Catch Me, Catch Me, If You Can
by FreyaCat
Summary: She was always falling, but this time, would someone be there to catch her?
1. Free Fall

_**Catch Me, Catch Me, If You Can**_

**I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of the characters. Darn…**

All she could remember was falling. The wind was screaming past her, whipping her hair about her face in wild, stinging tendrils. She knew that she should at least try to stop herself, but she was tired. So very tired. Would it really matter anyway, if she finished her fall? Would anyone really care when the wind stopped rushing and the ground came up to meet her? Oh, she knew that Koenma would be upset, if only because of the paper work that would surely follow this little "incident".

She wouldn't really die, per say, just return to the Spirit World in a different form. Maybe Hinageshi would ferry her back home. She had always liked Hina.

Oh, could she smell the ocean? Was she really that far away from the others who were still fighting back on shore? Surely the blast that took her down couldn't have been THAT powerful? But if it wasn't, then how did all of that blood get there? Was she bleeding? Funny, she couldn't feel a thing. The smell of salt was getting stronger, and she could hear the roar of waves under her…or was that just the blood rushing in her ears? No time like the present to find out.

She cracked an eye open only to have freezing wind close it again. Oh well, all for the better she supposed. Who would want to see an impending disaster heading for them? Wasn't it just natural to close one's eyes at a point like that?

She was sure that she could hear waves now. She could even feel sea spray hitting her face, further cooling skin that was already frigid. She should best try and hold her breath. Should have been hitting that water any second now…

"_**Wake up!"**_ She twitched. _**"Stupid woman, wake up and catch yourself!"**_

She found herself suddenly annoyed at the voice in her head. She was rather enjoying this little rest, thank you.

"_**If you're so worried, then YOU catch me!" **_She swore that she heard a growl follow that comment. Strange how the brain behaves when one knows something catastrophic has happened. She was finding herself talking irrationally with a strange voice. Odd…she should really—

Her eyes snapped open as she felt the air being slammed out of her lungs with more force than she had expected to feel in her current state of physicality. Her lenses immediately began to burn from the sheet of ocean water that closed over her head. Good Lord, what had she been thinking not to catch herself? Her body suddenly came alive again as her survival instincts kicked in full force. She kicked and struggled to get back to the surface, to the fresh air, but her heavy traditional garments were acting as dead weight and pulling her downward faster than she could kick up. Her eyes squinted heavily, trying to see through the blurry haze of salt water and blood that had formed a swirling orb around her. She could feel her lungs beginning to burn even more heavily with the dual forces of asphyxia and muscle spasms working against her.

Through the muck she could she murky shapes moving about her. Most likely they were sharks and other such creatures attracted to the blood pouring out of her wounds. They were moving toward her, these dark figures, coming at her with great speed and intent. She focused on one just out of the corner of her left eye. It was coming much more quickly than the others.

'_**Fine,' **_she thought, _**'just let the stupid thing get its fill of me. Then I can finally rest for a while.'**_

Her weary, over stressed mind had all but given up, even as her body continued to claw its way upward. The currents were beginning to toss her about, spinning her body this way and that until she was no longer sure which way was up and which way was misery. Her vision grew black. What was left of her tiny air reserve ran out and she sank like a stone, her limbs no longer attempting to save the body. And where was that blasted shark she had seen anyway? Didn't it know that she was a sitting, or in her case sinking, duck out here? Oh well, it was probably also for the best. At least she wouldn't be very dirty when she got back to Spirit World, what with all of this water around. She really should ask Koenma to grant her a leave of abse- Ah! There it was…

She felt the graze of rough skin on the back of her hand. She barely even twitched when the slight brush became an iron tight clamp around her wrist. Hmmm, she would have thought that a shark's teeth would be much more painful than that. Maybe that was just the lack of oxygen to her already frazzled brain that was talking. Pity, she would have preferred a bit of fresh air at that moment to a mouthful of bloody seawater.

It was as if the shark had read her mind. She suddenly felt a pair of very warm lips attempting to force air into her mouth. She resisted, thinking that a shark's breath would have tasted foul, and that was the last thing she wanted lumped on top of her at the moment.

"_**Take the air, you idiot! I don't have that much to give you! Believe me, if it comes to me saving me and leaving you to drown, I will not hesitate!" **_The shark clamped its lips over hers once more and exhaled sharply, forcing a small air bubble into her throat. She took it, if only to quiet this demanding and rather rude fish. Much to her surprise, however, she didn't taste guts and the blood of other, less fortunate fishes. Oh, there was a coppery tang of blood, but it was blended with what tasted like smoke and some sort of wild plant. It really wasn't unpleasant at all. Who would have thought?

Her eyes snapped back open at the stabbing pain in her chest as her lungs expanded just a bit. That teasing little puff of breath had awakened her body slightly. She focused her still burning eyes on her finned savior, who was at the moment pulling them both toward the surface. What an oddly shaped shark! It almost looked human. If she squinted a bit harder, why it almost looked like…

'_**Hiei?' **_Her mind rebelled a bit at the thought of the stoic fire demon coming to her rescue, but before she could dwell anymore on it, they broke the water's surface. She drew in a great broken gasp as the air hit her face once again. She immediately felt very dizzy and nauseous as ragged coughs expelled from her chest. Her stomach heaved, and she was afraid for a moment that she might have vomited all over herself and her savior.

"Don't even think about it, ferry girl! I swear I'll let you drop!" Her head rolled to her left as she tried to hone in on the source of the rough growl of a voice. Her eyes widened a fraction. Mercy! It was Hiei! It was Hiei who was currently kicking violently back to the beach that was only a few yards ahead of them. It was Hiei who held her wrist in a death-lock, supporting her weight and keeping her face above the water line. She could scarcely believe it! She had could have accepted Yusuke or even Kurama splashing away beside her, but this temperamental little bully had shocked her once again! She tried to speak, to tell him thank you, but all that came out was a croak of sorts which set of another round of those body racking coughs. Her face dipped a bit and she inhaled a small mouth-full of rancid seawater. God, would this day EVER end? She made a pact with herself then and there to never go swimming again if she could help it.

Still choking, shaking and terribly weak, she managed, with his assistance, to crawl her way through the shallow water onto shore. Once she knew she was safely away from the swells of the incoming waves, she allowed herself to collapse sideway in the soft sand. As she struggled to get her breathing back under control, she noted that Hiei had let go of her and was currently on all fours, panting just as she was. She looked him over, curious if he too was injured. So far as she could tell, he was just wet and angry. His heavy black pants clung to him and dripped heavily. His boots squished a bit when he shifted to look at her. She also noted that he was shirtless. He'd probably ripped it off during the fight. His gleaming garnet eyes bore into her face, and she saw that they were bloodshot from the saline that he had just paddled through to save her. To save her…Hiei had saved her! She reached out for his outstretched forearm, and immediately regretted it as he ripped his arm away from her fingers. He shot her a dark look.

"Don't mistake me dragging your pathetic carcass back to shore as an open invitation to touch me, ferry girl. " She looked up into his furious gaze, feeling much too exhausted to be frightened by it. She cracked a tiny smile at him, her face not allowing for the large grin that usually sat there.

"You," she gasped painfully, "You saved my life, Hiei. Thank you."

"Hn. Don't be so melodramatic. I only went after you because I thought the brat might shorten my sentence if I dragged you out."

She held his gaze and he twitched just a fraction, which only seemed to enrage him further. "It doesn't matter," she said hoarsely, "You still pulled me back. " With that, she broke her stare and closed her eyes. She passed out seconds later.

Hiei looked down on her and snorted. He found her quite disgraceful in this state. He mentally compared her to a drowned rat. A bloody drowned rat. He dragged his gaze over her body, examining each of the gashes that decorated her arms and torso. She was still bleeding rather profusely, but he'd seen much worse on Kurama and the Detective. He sighed, still knowing that her weak human form would need to have those attended to quickly. He looked around, silently wishing that Kurama or even that moronic oaf would show up soon and take over. He would never admit it, but the fight with Koenma's newest project had really tired him out. He'd had to use the Dragon twice just to make the enemy weak enough for the Detective to land his lethal blow. It had certainly been a surprise to everyone that he had the strength to pull that one off. Fools…they should've known by now not to doubt his abilities on the field. Thinking of the others roused him from his musings and he sent a call out to Kurama.

"_**Fox! Are you still alive, or do I need to wake this woman so she can ferry you to the brat's office?" **_Hiei smirked at the flicker of annoyance that passed through the link. Obviously, they were all fine.

"_**Hiei, where are you? We're coming to help you with her. I assume that you caught her in time?"**_ Kurama sent the answering call, searching for Hiei's ki signature.

"_**Tch…as if you needed to ask, Fox. She's a bit…moist…but still breathing at least. She'll need healing. The brat's newest mess did a number on her. Pathetic."**_ Hiei sensed concern pass through the link and scoffed at Kurama's softness. He really was hanging around these humans too much. Still he found his eyes tracing back over the sandy ground until they came to rest on her sleeping face. It seemed to him that being so weak by nature must be rather troublesome. He was instantly glad that he didn't need anyone to save him. He was more than strong enough to handle anything that came at him.

He found himself studying the lines and angles of her cheeks and jaw line. He would rather kiss Kuwabara than say it aloud, but even as torn up as she was at the moment, he still found her to be incredibly attractive. The brat was fortunate to have a body such as hers present in his office every day; though, her personality left much to be desired in his opinion. Which is why he was suddenly wondering at why he had saved her in the first place. She was extremely annoying with her sparking eyes, her flyaway hair and her ridiculously fluffy ideals on things like love and friendship.

He rolled his eyes at her sleeping form. That foolish woman had even accepted his explanation as to why he rescued her. She hadn't even thought to question it. Oh sure, saving her while he was already serving on a Spirit World mission would most likely convince the brat to shorten his sentence, which was his primary reason for literally leaping off of a cliff into a raging ocean to grab her.

In his mind's eye, he saw her broken body hurling through the clouds once more. He saw her blue hair loose and tangled, whipping around her battered body. Her kimono had fallen open with the upward push of the air, exposing her legs to her upper thighs. Her face was lax, splattered with her own blood.

He'd caught a glimpse of her out of his peripheral vision and shot a thought to her, urging her to save herself. He hadn't stopped to see if she really wouldn't catch herself. He hadn't ignored her and let her drown. He hadn't left her to the Detective. Most of all, he hadn't stopped to examine the icy nausea that overtook him when he saw a drop of pink and blue plummeting through the sky.

OKAY, GUYS, THIS IS MY FIRST STORY. I PLAN ON MAKING THIS A MULTI-CHAPTER FIC, BUT I NEED A LITTLE FEEDBACK TO HELP ME ON MY WAY. PLEASE, IF YOU WANNA BE A CRITIC, MAKE IT CONSTRUCTIVE. THANKS! -3 FREYA CAT


	2. Come Awake

**Well, ladies and gents, welcome to the next installment of our favorite duo. When last we left, Hiei had dragged Botan out of the ocean after a nasty fall. But why? *cue dramatic music* :D As always, I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of the characters.**

**Chapter 2: Come Awake**

Botan groaned and dragged a bandaged hand across her grainy eyes. The sun was unfairly bright that day, it seemed. _**'Man, what happened?,' **_she thought groggily,_** 'my mouth is so dry. I could really use some water. Wait…water? Hiei! The beach!' **_She gasped and jackknifed into sitting position. Her head, already pounding gave a particularly nasty throb, and she swayed a bit where she sat. She thought she heard someone moving off to her right and confirmed it as a pair of warm hands came around her shoulders.

"Whoa there, missy. Take it easy, huh? You've had a crappy last couple of days, ya know?" Botan leaned into the person's shoulder, his voice relaxing her stiff muscles. She chanced a glance at him and encountered sweet chocolate eyes twinkling kindly back down at her.

"Mmmg… Yusuke? What in the world happened? Where am I?" She removed her gaze from his and looked about the small room curiously.

"You're at Genkai's place. We took you here to heal three days ago." He said somberly.

"What?" she croaked, her voice rusty from lack of use, "I've been out for three days? Oh goodness, Lord Koenma must be absolutely furious with me!" She squirmed in his still firm grasp. He held dug his fingers lightly into her flesh to still her. She looked back at him, panic evident on her face. He smiled down at her and patted her head.

"Take it easy, Bo, diaper pants gave you like a whole month off. Just try and relax. Your body still has a lot of healing to do. That fall kinda beat ya up. That's it," he said as he laid her back gently," just relax. I'll go get Yukina. She's better at playing doctor than I am." With a malevolent smirk, he left the room.

She sighed and stared up at the wooden beams of Genkai's ceiling. She was frustrated. Once again, she had been not a help, but a hindrance to the men that she was supposed to be "assisting". It seemed to her that the only one around there always getting assistance was herself. She felt weak and foolish. She'd even go as far as to say humiliated by her lack of skills. What was the point of Koenma ordering her to tag along if all she ever did was cause trouble? What if someday, her inadequacies as a fighter got one of them hurt or even killed? To just think of poor Hiei having to dive off of a cliff to get to her after all he'd already been through that day made her quite queasy. Sure, his motivations were purely selfish but he'd still exerted quite a bit of his own dwindling energy to make sure that she lived. She'd known that he was near the exhaustion point just after he'd released the second Dragon.

She was still astonished that he could even do that move more than once! She marveled at the sheer amount of raw power that it must have taken to lure the beast out once, then keep it hovering just beneath the surface as she'd assumed he'd done. Perhaps they'd all underestimated just how powerful he was becoming. Yusuke would need to keep very close tabs on him in the future. Oh, she knew that he was an ally and a teammate, but he was very loyal to Mukuro these days. Who knew what that lady had up her sleeve?

She jerked under the covers as she heard the shoji slide open. She peeked up to find Yukina looking at her, concern coloring her eyes. The girl immediately crossed the room to where Botan lay and knelt down, her cool fingers grazing Botan's forehead. They both relaxed a bit.

"Oh good, Botan, your fever has gone down quite a bit. That's quite a relief. Everyone has been very worried about you these past few days. They wouldn't even let me heal them until you were safely set up in here. You'd lost a lot of blood, and we were afraid that we might lose you for a moment." Yukina flashed a sweet smile, but Botan could plainly see the lines of strain that creased the ice maiden's usually smooth skin and the dark circles that painted her under eyes. Her heart sank at hearing that they had all suffered longer because of her incompetence, but she swallowed her guilt and pasted her brightest grin on her face. She grabbed Yukina's hand and took a small amount of comfort when the girl squeezed her hand back.

"Silly me…putting you all to such a fright. I'm so sorry, Yukina. I never meant to cause so much trouble." Yukina shot her a shocked look.

"Oh, but Botan, you didn't cause any trouble at all! All of the men were extremely relieved to know that you would make a full recovery, and Kurama used some salves he'd already made to keep the rest of them comfortable while I healed you. When I was finished getting you to a safer place, I was able to heal most of their wounds. So you see? Everyone is fine and—oh my gosh, Botan! What's wrong, are you hurting?" Yukina's hands flew all over Botan's body to check for re-opened wounds at the sight of the tears gathered in her eyes and the suppressed sobs wracking her body. Botan stilled the young woman's fingers just as they reached her heart. She pressed Yukina's knuckles into the softness of her chest and held tight to her arm.

"You c-can't heal this, Yukina." Botan couldn't keep the sobs from breaking her voice or the tears from falling into her hair. "Whatever is broken is inside me. I must be defective. All I ever d-do is cause more trouble for those men! All I ever d-do is bring bad news to people. I-If I'm not slamming the team with another case, then I'm telling people that their lives are over. I take them away from everything that they love! I c-can't stand the way that they look at me! Like I'm dirty and ugly. I hate how weak I can be at the worst times and this last mission just proved it again!" Botan closed her eyes and tried to pull in calming breaths. She had already told Yukina far more than the girl probably wanted to know. She could feel the anger and embarrassment rising like a hot flood in her chest. How dare she let herself slip like that? How dare she put that burden on poor Yukina? What had gotten into her lately to cause such self-pitying thoughts?

She continued to breathe slowly, willing her body to relax and her grip on Yukina's hand to soften. She twitched when she felt those soft fingers in her hair and looked up at the unreadable expression on Yukina's face. After some time, the girl broke Botan's gaze and stared ahead at the wall. Her fingers kept stroking the ferry girl's hair until her breathing evened out and she fell into an exhausted slumber.

Yukina sighed softly and carefully pulled her fingers from the silken blue strands of her friend's hair. She had learned that sleeping spell from Rui, but never thought she would have the occasion to use it. To say she was surprised at Botan's outburst would've been an understatement. She thought maybe "floored" would be a more appropriate term. She had, like the rest of the team, always thought of Botan as the lighthearted one of their little family. Nothing seemed to get her down. Now, she wondered just how many of those beautiful smiles had been a show. How many had been a fragile mask used to hide what was really going on behind those bright amethyst eyes? She'd always known that Botan felt strongly her emotions, but she didn't realize how badly Botan beat herself up over every little thing that she did wrong. Perhaps there was a much darker side to this little ray of sunshine.

She shifted and glanced over her shoulder as she saw a shadow flit into the room. She relaxed when she saw Hiei leaning against the far wall, his bandaged hands shoved in his pants pockets. Their eyes locked for a moment and she noted how similar the color was to hers before he looked down at the ferry girl laying on the futon. She turned back around and resumed the holding the sleeping spell that had all but knocked Botan out before.

"Is she well?" Hiei's rough timbre filled the room.

"Don't worry, Hiei, she'll make a full recovery in another few days."

"Hn. Who said I was worried? I just don't want the brat to pin it on me if something goes wrong with her after all."

"I see…well you can ask her how she's feeling yourself when she wakes up. I'm sure she'll be happy to see for herself that you're not hurt."

"Tch…I'd rather not."

With that he left the room, and Yukina shook her head. She knew that Hiei had heard everything that Botan had said moments before. Now the question was, should she tell Botan he knew, or just see what, if anything Hiei decided to do with the loaded information that he now had?


	3. Scream

**Hey there, everyone! Thank you so much to everyone who was kind enough to review! I'm a pretty new author around here, so it was encouraging to see that some of you like my story so far. I'm sort of just making this up as it pops into my head, so I'm not quite sure where this will turn out…But hey! Let's just have fun on the ride, ne? Toodles! :P -3 Freya**

**I still don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of the characters.**

**Scream**

_She was falling again. Everything was rushing by her in a great streak of colors. The wind, that loud screaming wind was pushing her person this way and that. She tried unsuccessfully to summon the instrument of her survival, but the oar wouldn't come. She knew she was going to die this time. There was no dark hero to come to her rescue. There was no swirling water below her to break her speed. _

_ She screamed, her throat rebelling against the freezing air assaulting her face. God, what had she done to deserve this terror? She would've given anything to stop, to ascend back to those clouds above her. Those fluffy, white, mocking clouds. _

_ Below her were rocks and stones waiting to tear her limb from limb, to rend her flesh from her bones. To leave her open for the entire world to see. She screamed louder and begged whatever god or devil that would listen to save her. Her screams got shriller, more frantic, her body twisted wildly in a macabre dance. She could feel her vocal chords beginning to shred as she screamed louder still…._

Botan's eyes snapped open, her breath already coming in broken gasps and ragged sobs. She was cold from the sweat that was beginning to dry on her skin. She looked wildly about the pitch black of the room and focused on the pattering of the rain slapping against the wooden slats of the window. Lightning lit the room brilliantly for a split second, and was flowed closely by a loud clap of thunder. The howling wind that was tearing at the shutters thrust her mind back into the dreamscape and she shivered. Sometimes her fragility was quite frustrating. She forced her muscles to slacken, for her hands to loosen their tearing grip on the bed beneath her. She breathed slowly, the beat of her pounding heart coming through with each harsh exhale.

So…it had only been a dream. The relief that she was safe made her head spin. Yet, she was still unsettled. Where in the world had that awful dream come from? Usually her dreams were the only place where she could be at peace. How had she somehow let those troublesome thoughts pierce her sanctuary? She'd had nightmares before, but this one was different somehow. She knew suddenly that something was very wrong. It seemed as though some dark liquid was beginning to replace the very blood in her veins, stealing from her the light that had always guided her.

"Hn," a sleep roughened growl from the far corner made her jump. She turned her head so quickly that she cracked her neck, which she slapped her hand to in a gesture of pain.

"W-Who's there?" She was slightly appalled at the tiny squeak that came out with her voice, so she cleared her throat and mustered up the most threatening glare that she could. A low chuckle one more filled the still silence of the room.

"Foolish woman, what were you dreaming about that made you fidget so?" From the shadows, Hiei slowly emerged. Botan embraced the newest flood of relief at seeing him there with her, completely unharmed. "I've never understood how something as simple as a nightmare has the ability to frighten people. I find it weak and very annoying." He'd moved closer to her and was now standing over her. She wasn't used to having to look up at him, and doing so, he'd given himself even more of a presence in the already small room.

"Goodness, Hiei, you gave me a fright!" She glanced at him shyly. "Why, I almost thought you were some slimy monster coming to eat me. Anyway, I had been hoping to see you. I wanted to make sure that you were alright. Yukina said that she healed you, but I didn't really know how bad your injuries were."

Hiei scoffed and crouched next to her, his eyes holding hers in an accusing glare. His hand went to the hilt of the sword that was still strapped to his belts. She blushed, realizing with his movements that he was shirtless and barefoot. He was even missing the strip of linen that covered the Jagan. Still though, even as relaxed as he was, he was a very imposing man, and Botan shrank back from him just a bit. He smirked.

"Yes, girl, I don't appreciate my sister having to expend more of her energy to heal you as well. You should have done us all a favor and left the first time the Detective told you to go. Maybe that would have also saved me from getting wet and having to drag your heavy carcass back to shore." His voice had taken on a scathing note.

"Hiei," she started, "I'm sorry. I never meant to cause you any additional pain. It was never my intention to put you in any more danger. I—ah!" She let out a tiny shriek as his hand suddenly shot out and fisted in the collar of her yukata. She attempted to push him away. He held tighter.

"You stupid, childish woman!" he hissed. "Don't think for even a second that just because Koenma is forcing us to live and work in close quarters that I like you or that your worthless apology means anything. Did you really think that doing something as simple as swimming would wear me out? You really are a fool to think that you could insult me so!"

She could feel his skin beginning to burn hotter. The heat of his rage was like a living thing, choking her…freezing her. She tried to speak, but nothing would form around the lump in her throat a she stared up at him with a glassy eyed expression.

She felt his ki flare a bit and he shook her slightly. "So," he whispered," you're sorry are you? Then stop whining about how useless you are and become stronger for the next mission; because hear me well, girl, if you continue to drain my sister, I will not hesitate to end you." His hand had melted the fabric over her chest and his clenched knuckles were blistering every bit of soft flesh that they touched. She barely even noticed it.

She felt herself breaking. She needed to escape, to save her soul from being destroyed by the blaze of those red eyes. She shoved at him with all of her might. His eyes widened, surprised by her unexpected movements. He released her and sat down hard as she tore back the cover and ran for the door. She tripped over his knee in the inky darkness and tumbled before him. She felt him move behind her, perhaps to sling her back into bed, but the thought of him touching her again seemed suddenly terrifying. Panting, she clawed her way up from the floor boards and ran as fast she ever had before, her demons nipping at her heals.

A door slid open before her and she was vaguely aware of a sleepy eyed Kurama poking his head into the hall. She rushed past him, not caring that he saw her frantic expression or her state of undress. She barely even heard him when he shouted her name. When she heard the pounding of bare feet behind her, she knew that he was racing after her. Typical Kurama…

Just as she was reaching to throw open the front door, she felt a pair of rock solid arms come around her and pull her back. She kicked and fought, knowing that if she didn't get out of that house that she would lose her mind. His arms tightened around her and turned her face into his chest. She struggled all the more, needing for him to understand and free her.

"Shhh…Botan! Calm down! What on earth is going on? Hey, stop that! You'll only reinjure yourself!" Kurama's voice was not concealing the frantic confusion he was feeling. He was, quite simply, frightened for her. The feeling was made all the more frustrating when he couldn't understand the meaning of the tiny sobs and broken words that were pouring from her mouth. However, he judged from the burnt clothes and blisters at the top of her breast that Hiei was written all over the situation. He turned his nose into her hair and sniffed…wood smoke. He growled.

She pushed hard off of his chest and he allowed her to back away slightly. His eyes widened at the look of absolute heart break that colored her beautiful features. Tears began to form in her cotton candy eyes and she dropped her face as her body began to shake.

"D-Don't you see, Kurama? He was right. He was right about everything." Her voice was low and smooth like warm brandy, but her skin had turned icy. He was just about to take her into the family room and sit her down when she gave a violent jerk, pulling away from him. She turned and sprinted once more for the open door.

Kurama started to run after her, silently vowing to teach Hiei a lesson about female emotions when she was safely in her bed again. She wrenched the door open and threw herself into the whipping winds and freezing torrents of rain. She knew that he would catch her quickly if she continued on foot, so she called in her oar. She was relieved to feel its familiar weight in her hand. Roughly she pushed it between her thighs and shot into the air just as another bolt of lightning split the sky.

She heard Kurama screaming her name, but she didn't look back at him. She just concentrated on keeping herself from being tossed about by the storm. She shifted and winced, the movement bringing to life the stinging that had been missing from the angry red blisters on her breast. She looked down at it and clearly saw the shape of Hiei's knuckles painted on her, making the skin around it seem almost ghostly in comparison.

She put her hand over his heat, replaying in her head every harsh word that he'd so carelessly spilled onto her heart. Then she looked down again, trying to judge how bad the scaring that he'd left behind would be. She gasped, and let out a keening cry that was lost on the winds as she realized that his hand would be forever scarred right over her heart.

Meanwhile, Kurama was still squinting up at the sky, trying to catch a glimpse of bright blue through the raging storm. He was so distracted that he nearly jumped when a pair of small warm hands came to rest lightly on his waist. He leaned back into her and allowed her arms to fully encircle him. He sighed as his lover began humming a peaceful tune, seemingly watching the skies with him.

"So," her low, sweet voice crooned, " mind sharing with the rest of the class what the hell that was all about?"

He sighed deeply and placed his hand over both of hers. "I don't know, Shizuru, but I know one temperamental little fire apparition who is damned sure going to tell me." They kept a nervous watch for a while longer as the storm pressed onward.

**Oh no, you guys! What's gonna happen now?...i dunno, you probably know better than I do right about now :D. Seriously though, thank you so much to everyone who's reviewed so far. Your all a bunch of sweethearts! And to those who've added me to the favorite author list, you really are too kind. ^_^; Hope I don't disappoint you. I don't have time to list everybody out right now, but we'll say hello to them in the next installment, ne? Toodles! **

** -3 Freya**


	4. Because I Said So

**Hello again! Freya here and this next chapter is brought to you by your friends that dropped me a line! Let's show them a little love!**

**Chimaira009: ****Yea, Hiei's never been accused of being a "nice guy". Hopefully Kurama can show him a thing or two about women!**

**Sailorangelmoon1: ****I don't know! She just might! Question is, will he agree to help her?**

**UchihaHannabe:**** Thank you so much! I'm pleased that you can easily read this story! I'm glad that you're able to enjoy it, even if your native language isn't English. Hope you keep reading! **

**Still don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of the characters…someday!**

**Because I Said So!**

The storm was still pressing violently through the woods around Genkai's compound. The sun had yet to rise, and in the darkness, one member of the team was restlessly pacing…

_Hiei had awoken in a cold sweat, his heart beating in a far more regular and heavy rhythm than he knew was normal for a demon. Frustrated and feeling a distinct unease, he hopped down from the tree that he had been occupying to troll the area. A heavy, rain scented wind was stirring his hair and he knew that he could expect a storm sometime that evening. _

_ As if on cue, an enormous streak of lightning bolted across the sky, and a boom of thunder made his sensitive ears twitch. He passed by the back of the temple's living quarters and peered very carefully around. He knew that Yukina was there still holding the sleeping spell that was allowing the ferry girl to bask in dreamless oblivion. He sent a psychic sweep through the room and felt fury overtaking him when he sensed just how exhausted his sister was. How dare she push herself like that? Did she not know that she was putting her own body at risk?_

_ He wrenched open her window and jumped through. Yukina jumped and jerked her head up to look at the intruder. Her tensed shoulders relaxed when he recognized his form the pitch dark. She got to her feet, wincing as blood once again rushed back into her stiff legs. She slowly made her way over to him and gave him a small smile._

"_Hello, Hiei. What brings you back here? I thought everyone was asleep. Oh gosh, your wounds aren't bothering you, are they?" One of her tiny hands came up to cover his forehead. He reached up and gently put it back down at her side._

"_Hn…I'm fine, Yukina. You shouldn't be worrying about me. Why aren't you asleep?" He gave her a stern look, which she met her own look that said she knew she'd been caught._

"_It's okay, Hiei, I really don't mind. Besides, I'm the only one who can hold that spell. She needs rest." She turned to walk back to Botan and stopped short when he softly grabbed her shoulder._

"_No, Yukina, you're the one who should be resting. Go to sleep. I'll watch the girl."_

_She gasped and turned around. "No, Hiei! Please don't feel that you have to do that for my sake! I'll be fine, I promise. You should go back to sleep and I'll –mmmg." Her eyes crossed to peer down at her mouth, which he had covered with his hand._

"_Yukina, that wasn't a request. If you push yourself to your own breaking point, then you won't be of use to anyone. If you're so worried about her, than take care of yourself. I'm sure she'd be displeased to find that you had hurt yourself for her sake." She looked up at him through her lashes and nodded once. He removed his hand and turned her gently toward the door. Taking the hint, she softly padded across the room. Taking one last worried look at Botan, she stepped out and slid the door shut._

_ Only once he'd heard the shoji click shut did he take his eyes from where she'd been. He looked down at the girl, still sleeping peacefully thanks to his sister's efforts. He sighed, realizing then that he'd basically volunteered himself for babysitting duty. _

'_Oh well,' he thought sourly, 'too late now. Yukina needs rest. Might as well get comfortable.'_

_ He made his way to the far corner next to the window. As soon as he'd sat down and removed his heavy coat, he heard the soft patter of rain against the window's glass. He let out a tiny sigh. He knew that sleep would not come back to him that night. _

_ The woman let out a small noise and turned onto her side. She was now fully facing him and he took the opportunity to study her. She really was a pretty thing. Her features portrayed a sort of classical beauty that was rare in a world where Hiei found the women to be very plastic. His eyes trailed upward and he took in her hair. It was an odd color. He'd never seen a shade quite like it, even in Demon World. _

_ The women of Demon World were exotic. They came with cat ears, wolf tails and an ample figure beneath their multi-colored skins; but this woman was different somehow. There was an aura about her that would make her stick out like a sore thumb no matter what world she was flying around in. He growled at himself, and wondered why he was thinking such ridiculous and pointless thoughts. _

_ She groaned again and rolled to her other side, taking the cover with her. Her back, which was clothed only in a very thin sleeping yukata, was now exposed to his view. Every curve was clearly visible beneath the fabric. He was surprised to feel heat rushing into his cheeks. In point of fact, the heat was spreading throughout his entire body. He pulled off his boots, hoping that it would help alleviate the tingling internal fire that was quickly becoming stifling, even to him. When that didn't work, he tugged his shirt off and used it as a rag to dry the sweat that was beading his chest and neck. Angrily, he ripped off the linen over his Jagan when it became soaked as well._

_ He was stumped. He had seen women wearing far less than that before on his travels in Demon World, but not a single one of them had ever elicited such a response from his body. To make matters worse, he had no viable means of relief being trapped as he was with her. As the inferno in his body grew, he slowly started to resent her. She had been right earlier. She really was nothing but trouble!_

_ As he looked on at her, his body betraying him, he noticed that she was flopping about in a most disgraceful way. The little moans issuing from her mouth were driving him mad. Just as Hiei was sure he would melt into a boiling puddle right there in her room, she jerked up and drew in a great, ragged breathe. _

_She'd startled him so much that his hand snapped to the hilt of his sword. Sensing no one else around, he used the Jagan to quickly sweep her body. He relaxed when he found that her vitals were fine. He watched her fighting to control her breath and slow her pounding heart. All of that drama over a stupid dream? He let out a disbelieving chuckle. _

_She whipped her head around and slapped a hand to it following a particularly painful crack. She called out in his direction, demanding to know who he was. Unfortunately for her, the effect was lost when her voice betrayed her with a squeak. He smirked. She recovered quickly, however, and attempted to stare him down. That caused another chuckle to bubble in his throat. He'd given her credit though; she must've been braver than he thought to glare at him while her heart was trying to escape her chest. He was wondering what could have been so awful that it was causing such a reaction from her. So he asked._

"_Foolish woman, what were you dreaming about that made you fidget so?" He got to his feet and began to move toward her._

Hiei was still pacing. Minutes before, the ferry girl had all but knocked him over trying to get out of the room. He'd tried to grab her and push her back down on the bed, to keep her quiet; but she'd torn off before he could collect himself. He'd considered going after her, but just as he took his first step he heard the Fox call out to her. It stopped him short. The last thing he'd needed was Kurama thinking that he was actually feeling worried for the girl.

He cringed, replaying everything that he'd said to her. He'd been so angry. Question was, had he been angrier at her or at himself for allowing those strange feelings to invade him? He looked down at his hand and flexed the tingling fingers. He could still feel the silk of her skin against his knuckles, the fluttering of her heart beneath his heat. He'd known that he'd marred her beast with blisters. Pity…if the feel of just the top of one was anything to judge by, he'd guessed that her breasts were perfect.

He silently cursed her. Why did he even care? Perhaps she'd cast some sort of enchantment on him, a spell to keep him under Koenma's thumb? What else could have explained the crushing weight that had been building on top of his chest since he'd uttered the first harsh word to her? How else could he have explained the ice that had replaced the boiling blood in his veins?

He heard the Fox's muffle voice shushing her, heard her fighting to break free of him. It got quiet for a moment, and then what must've been the front entrance to the temple slammed open loudly, and the Fox called her name once again.

The weight on his chest grew more crushing, actually beginning to cause him physical pain. He growled and dragged an angry swipe across his brow. He'd refused to go out after her! If that air headed, naïve flying sugar puff wanted to go out there in that crazy storm just because he'd hurt her ridiculous feelings a little, then he certainly wasn't going to go after her…no matter how badly his chest was hurting.

He walked to the corner that he had previously occupied and began to gather his clothes. Just as he was tying his head band, Kurama snapped the shoji and flipped on the light. Hiei could instantly see the raw fury in his eyes, though his face remained stoic as ever. Hiei met his gaze, refusing to show just how nervous the Fox was beginning to make him. He did shift a fraction, however, when Kurama stalked toward him, his aura throwing out sparks of rage.

Hiei's hand went to the hilt of his sword just as Kurama's clenched fist connected solidly with his jaw. Hiei went flying, and sprawled out on the futon where Botan was laying not ten minutes before. Immediately, he was back on his feet and had drawn his sword. Kurama's whip was out as well, and the fox had no reservations about taking Hiei to his knees.

The fire demon felt the stinging thorns of the rose whip biting into his flesh. He flicked his sword under it, trying to cut it and free himself. Kurama jerked, and Hiei's skin broke as he fell right back onto his butt. Before he could disentangle himself from the blanket, Kurama was on him.

The Fox flipped him over and grabbed a handful of Hiei's coat. He knocked Hiei's sword from his hand and brought their faces so close that their noses were almost touching. Hiei was slightly taken aback by this action and he tried to scoot backwards a bit at least. Kurama jerked him right back to where he had been. Then his low whisper filled Hiei's ears.

"You're going to fix this, you selfish little bastard. You're going to go out there and find her no matter how tired, wet or cold you are. When you catch her, and you WILL catch her, you'll bring her back her and tend to her every need until I'm satisfied that she's been pampered sufficiently. You will not run. If you run, I will find you and bring you back here." Kurama lowered his head until his lips were nearly touching Hiei's ear. To the untrained eye, they looked like they were sharing a lover's embrace. In reality, it was anything but loving.

"Then, the entire team will sit you down and have a long chat with you about why it's a bad idea to upset an injured woman, especially one that is very well loved here. You know how Yusuke gets when someone threatens his loved ones, right? Now, you may be able to handle him, but it won't be just him that you're up against." Kurama's low voice and his breath on Hiei's ear nearly made the fire demon shiver.

"It'll be all of us, and hear me Hiei, we will not fight fairly. Besides, you wouldn't want Yukina to wake up and find her patient gone and possibly dead would you? I know how much you've hated seeing her tire herself out lately. Why make more work for her when you can just do it yourself? Now…Botan took off heading in a western direction almost five minute ago. With the wind the way it is right now, she's more than likely getting tossed around quite a bit. You'd better hurry. Go."

Kurama roughly dropped him back onto the futon and stood up. He watched with dead eyes as Hiei stood up and dusted off. The fury between them was a tangible thing. The air swam with it as they stared into each other's eyes, neither one willing to be the first one to back away.

"Whoa there! What the hell's goin' on in here?" A sleepy eyed and rusty voiced Yusuke poked his head through the door. He took stock of his two teammates and instantly went on alert. "Hey, guys, what is it?"

Kurama blinked and tossed Yusuke a glance, his eyes softening as they met the Detective's gaze. "It's nothing, Yusuke. Just a small glitch. Hiei has kindly volunteered to handle. Isn't that right, Hiei?" His eyes rested on Hiei once more.

"Hn." He grunted and turned on his heel. He pushed roughly past Yusuke and stalked down the hall and threw open the front door. He caught her scent and tore off through the rain to find her. He cursed his life.

**Phew! Well that chapter was a bit intense, ne? We can only hope for his sake that she shows herself. Next chapter to follow shortly!**

** -3 Freya**


	5. Wanna Bet?

**Sorry that this took so long, guys! Everything has been nuts here these last few days. Plus I'm really sick. To all of you who reviewed, ya'll are angels! I know that the prospect of Kurama kicking Hiei's butt seems a little far-fetched, however I honestly think that he could is he was angry enough. No one really gives Kurama a lot of credit as a fighter because he fights with flowers and such, but let's not forget that Yoko is more than likely hundreds, if not thousands of years older than Hiei! He may mainly rely on his brain for support, but I think that if provoked, that he could be every bit as brutal and ruthless as Hiei. He probably just wanted to show that young whipper snapper how to do it old-school. Plus, Hiei was a little off guard at that point and rather shocked that Kurama would come after him like that in the first place. Meh, just my opinion. I believe that everyone is a little bit weaker around friends and trusted allies because you feel like they'll back you up, ya know? Also, I'm sort of against the idea of one individual being so strong that they could take out the rest of the team. That's the beauty of the Rekai Tantei. They really balance each other out. Anyway, that was my long winded spiel about it. On with the important stuff!**

**I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of the characters.**

**Wanna Bet?**

Hiei hadn't anticipated just how cold the rain had been. As the icy droplets struck his face, he once again found himself cursing his life. How exactly had things turned sour so quickly? He'd never seen Kurama get quite that angry; and over one insignificant little witch to boot! What was it about that woman that got under one's skin? One look at her and you either wanted to kill her or form some ridiculous attachment to her. He was definitely the former…

In point of fact, the only reason that he had found himself wandering about in a storm like this was because it was in Mukuro's best interest to have the team as his ally. It wasn't that he was frightened of any of them, or because he cared for the girl. Nope, not one iota. He just didn't feel like having his commander screech at him for an hour because he'd managed to completely obliterate all ties to the team.

He'd known that Mukuro was up to something, and that she wanted to stay on friendly terms with the Detective and the Fox. She'd sent them well-wishes via him, which he'd found quite odd enough; but that hadn't been all. She'd been leaving at all hours of the night and day to train and leaving him in charge of everyone. He'd followed her one day just after he'd retired the troops for the evening. She had headed straight to Raizen's land. Suddenly, it clicked. After all, Yusuke would soon control all of Raizen's territory and Kurama was just plain valuable to keep in one's back pocket so to speak for emergency situations. The oaf had no use or value and could rot for all he cared. He'd concluded that she was gathering intelligence on the neighboring kingdoms. The only thing that had been eluding him was: why?

Lightning split the sky once again and a nasty crack of thunder brought his search to the forefront of his thoughts once again. He gave a loud mental sigh. Finding a frantic woman who didn't want to be found in that weather might have been a challenge, except that he was in possession of the most powerful tracker in all three of the worlds. He jumped high into the branches adorning one of the many huge trees on Genkai's property. Once he was crouched low and out of the rain, he snapped off the cover over the Jagan, placed a rough hand on the trunk of the tree he was on, and closed his eyes.

Whispers of the spirits all around him in the forest became a dull roar in the back of his mind. He resolutely shut them out and focused on finding only one spirit. He sent the call out in the direction the Kurama had described and began to fan it out slowly from there, making sure to sweep everything in his path from the highest branch to beneath the wet slimy rocks. The water in the air was preventing him from simply following her scent, so this tedious process seemed to be the best way to go about finding her….

Thirty minutes and one extremely off put fire demon later, he'd still yet the locate her. It was possible that she'd already flown through the portal to the Spirit World and was sobbing on the Brat's shoulder that very second. He scoffed. She really was a weak thing, prone to emotional outbursts at any given moment. She had even gotten upset when someone had made fun of her hair color during the Dark Tournament. Why, if someone made fun of him, he wouldn't whine about it or fuss. He'd just blast them away. The girl on the other hand, would spend countless amounts of energy just to argue her point with someone. She certainly was a stubborn creature. He wasn't sure that it was an attractive quality in her, even if it did make her eyes light up in the most intriguing way…

His eyes snapped open as a tiny ping plucked the strings of the Jagan's probe. He smirked and jumped down, heading in an eastern direction from the roots of the tree. The wind must've blown her about a bit more roughly than even the Fox knew. The wind had picked up even more during the time he'd been sheltered from the elements. He snorted. Knowing her, she'd crash landed and passed out in the rain. She was probably freezing and soaked through to her bones. Wonderful… now he was going to have to contend with her vitals as well. Not that he really cared, but again he thought of Mukuro and the fact that honor dictated that he do what was in her best interest. So, he steeled himself and set off at an even faster pace toward that little flare of light he'd been seeking.

He kept his hands at eye level, slapping wet branches from his face. He looked around at the scenery whizzing by him. She'd traveled farther into the woods than he'd originally thought. He was catching the foul scents of other creatures hunting their prey in the trees. He'd known that they were close, as he could smell them even through the rain. He sniffed, trying to single out what kinds of vermin he might have been encountering. Another smirk lit his face; he'd wanted to go hunting that night anyway.

His nose wrinkled as another scent floated faintly past him. It was a strange one, yet familiar. It was both pleasant, and made him want to sneeze all at once. He stopped and tilted his face to the air. He drew in a great breath and let the smell settle in his mouth. Then, he rolled his tongue slightly and tasted it. It tasted like that sugary sweet crap his sister and Kuwabara had enjoyed on a number of occasions. Secretly, he had liked it, but he would never tell anyone. Only weak fools liked such soft foods. Beneath the first layer, he'd tasted the familiar tang and salt of sweat. It didn't taste all together bad with the first flavor. He thought he'd like to taste the actual source of the flavor that had settled on his tongue.

He opened his eyes slowly and took stock of his surroundings. He'd been moving during that strange, almost trance-like state that he'd just snapped out of. He'd come to a meadow covered in wildflowers. Perhaps the odd smell was coming from one of them. He'd already known before he'd entered the small clearing that the girl was there some place. She'd probably used it, thinking it a soft place for a landing. He scanned the ground thoroughly, until a shock of blue caught his sight. He walked toward her crumpled form.

The Fox had been right when he'd said she'd be blown about. He looked down at her, something odd and uncomfortable seeping into his chest. He shook it off and knelt at her side. She'd face planted, and her nose was still buried in the dirt. He gently turned her over and carefully, almost methodically, began to peel the matted sky hued strands and clumps of mud from her face. The rain washed away the rest. His eyes widened and he jerked back. She really was the most exquisite female he'd ever come across. He studied the delicately rounded shape of her jaw, the creamy skin that had seemed to be poured into her bones, the sharp little nose that seemed to be permanently wrinkled in a smile, the thick crescents of her lashes lying heavily against her cheeks, beads of water forming and falling quickly. He swallowed as he looked at her lips. Perfection. Even he, who detested the very thought of romanticism, had to admit that she had the best lips he'd ever seen. He wondered for a fraction of a second what they would taste like; but, he'd already known.

The day that he'd pulled her from the water, he'd forced air down her throat. Even then, he'd marveled at how soft they were. Ever since then, he'd been beating back the urge to lick his own lips every time he thought about her. He shook himself, disgusted. Where were all of these disturbing thoughts coming from? He leaned closer to her preparing to lift her. He sat her up and put her arm around his shoulder. He shifted, picking up her legs at the same time that her head lolled to one side, her hair brushing his nose. Suddenly, it clicked. The taste still coating his mouth was hers. The idea rattled him a bit. He didn't like to think that the mere scent of a woman could do anything to him, but the proof was there as his pulse began to speed up. He growled and began the lengthy run back to the temple.

Five minutes later found him at a slow walk and quite miffed. He'd stopped running almost as soon as he'd started. He'd found that with every step or jump, her nose and lips had lightly grazed the side of his neck. It had become such a distraction that he'd almost tripped over a twig. He was instantly glad that she was out because if she'd been awake to see that, he would have killed her on the spot. Mukuro be damned.

With a grunt, he stopped walking and plopped her unceremoniously on the ground. Fine, if that idiot wanted to continue to aggravate him, even in her unconscious state, then he would just carry her in such a way that she'd be saddle sore when she woke. He grabbed her and roughly placed her on his back. He immediately regretted it. Her face fell forward and her warm breath was wreaking havoc on him.

He swore to himself that as soon as she was safe, he would take a very long holiday somewhere deep in Demon World; just himself and no one else. No Fox, no Mukuro, no troops, and mostly no stupid, foolish, weak, troublesome, beautiful, intoxicating ferry girls. He stopped short and inhaled angrily at his last thought.

The situation with the girl was rapidly becoming very uncomfortable and more than mildly irritating. He would ask the Fox if the Demon mating season was approaching early that year. That would certainly explain the ludicrous images that had been bombarding him since the start of the last mission. Maybe he was getting sick. A fever would explain the delirium that he'd been feeling around her. He'd have Yukina take a quick look at him when they returned; if they returned. The rate that he was going, she'd freeze to death out there.

His body twisted sharply as several twigs snapped off to his left. His lip curled as he was assaulted by the smell of rotting meat and rancid sweat. A quick sweep with the Jagan told him that it was nothing more than a low level goon. It was probably looking for food and had mistaken him for a nice meal. Hiei grinned maniacally as his blood lust rose to the surface in a great wave. He would enjoy killing this waste with his bare hands. Botan chose that moment to move and let out a small groan in his ear. Hiei tensed and resolutely dropped her right back onto the soggy ground. The last thing he'd need would be her distracting him with her breathy moans and come-hither scents. Too late.

The giant green and purple lizard beast stomped out of the trees and peered down at Hiei, his face contorting into a grotesque smirk as a deep rumbling laugh vibrated from his throat. His mouth had begun to water, and long strings of spittle were blowing off of his face toward Hiei. Then he spoke.

"Hello, there, little boy. Are you lost? You must be to have wandered into Tephra's territory. Lucky you, though, you're just in time for dinner." His leer grew ever more disgusting, and Hiei snorted.

"Please, your energy level is so pathetic; you must really be an idiot to think you could defeat me even if I was a little boy. And seriously…Tephra? Was kind of slapped together shit sandwich of a name is that? I'm going to have fun ripping you to pieces." Normally, Hiei wouldn't have even bothered to speak to such a sad excuse of a living being, but he wanted to work off some steam. Besides, witty banter with a moron had always been one of his most favored pass times. He took stance and allowed a tiny ribbon of his power to flow through him. He was certain that it would take no more than that. Tephra threw his head back and cackled.

"That's an awfully tiny power for such a big mouth, little man. I will eat well tonight. Then, when I'm done with you, I can pick you out of my teeth with your little woman's bones." The demon also took a fighting stance that Hiei instantly saw was riddled with unprotected areas. He would hit all of them.

"Then come, you fool," Hiei said softly.

Tephra took one step and stopped. He swung his head around to look at where Botan lay. Hiei looked out of the corner of his eye, wanting to see what he was looking at, but not willing to remove his sight from an opponent. Only she wasn't there anymore. Hiei tensed. If she had woken up, she might get in his way. Best to end the fight quickly. He'd go hunting for sport once she was back in her bed. He darted quick glances around the trees to see if her tell-tale blue hair would appear. Tephra still hadn't moved. Lightning lit everything in stunning brilliance for a second, and Hiei spotted her. He stared.

She was upright and hovering at least five feet off of the ground. Wind whipped her curls and rain pelted her, but when he looked harder, he could see that it wasn't actually touching her. It was striking an orb of power that had formed around her. She looked to be awake, but all he saw was an eerie white light coming from her open eyes. Then she spoke, her voice not her own, but a culmination of many whispers.

"So, filthy spirit, you choose to make light work of taking the life of others? You kill for sport, and laugh at the victims and their loved ones, whose lives you have also ruined. For this, I will repay you in kind." She reached up and peeled back one lapel of her yukata. The gentle swell of the top of one breast appeared and Hiei couldn't bring himself to look away from it. Suddenly, he was shocked to find a blinding light emanating from her chest. Tephra, who hadn't moved at all, was being forcefully pulled toward her. His feet were leaving divots in the soft mud as they dragged the ground, but he seemed frozen, completely immobile. His eyes, however, were wide with terror and swiveled to and fro looking for a way out.

He stopped only a few inches from her face. Fresh sweat covered his body and the stink of his fear was almost overwhelming Hiei's sensitive nose; but Botan didn't seem to notice. She reached her delicate hand out and placed her palm flat on his chest. That strange white light traveled down her arm and settled in a small spot above his heart. A queer buzzing sound filled the forest. She pulled her hand back slowly, and with it came a thin black thread from his chest. He looked at it and squeaked. She brought it slowly, reverently to her lips and pressed it to them. Then she looked back at the demon.

"Filthy spirit, I have come here to rid this world of your stench. Not even your soul will survive this night." She opened her mouth and grabbed the thread with her tongue. She closed her teeth around it and pulled it tight. Tephra looked at her with pleading eyes and Hiei remained frozen, not able to process what he was seeing. She jerked her head to the side and the thread snapped. The life fled Tephra's eyes and he crumpled dead to the ground.

She turned her head back and spat, thick black fluid landing on the ground with a wet plop. Then she wiped her mouth and turned to Hiei. He shivered violently and hated himself for it. She descended and began to walk toward him. He couldn't even shift back from her. She stopped and placed a gentle hand under his chin, forcing his gaze to meet hers. He wanted to squeeze his eyes shut, but was unable to even twitch. She gave him a small smile.

"Don't worry, Hiei, you're safe." Her voice had changed from the frightening mesh of malevolent whispers to a deep purr. Hiei relaxed a bit at her words. "I will never hurt you." She leaned down and placed a light kiss on his open lips. He jerked, the heat in her lips alone chasing away the shudders that had been wracking his body. She pulled back and looked at him almost expectantly. He cleared his throat.

"What… what are you?" He held her gaze, refusing to show his nerves.

"In time," she chuckled. The sound warmed him completely, obliterating the last of his shivers. Then she sat at his feet and closed her eyes. She stayed that way for a moment as he looked on. When she opened them again, they were the clear amethyst color he recognized. She blinked at him owlishly.

"Goodness, Hiei, where are we? Why are we out here?" She pushed herself up from the ground. "I'm freezing!" She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered slightly. Hiei turned and began walking toward the temple, lost in thought again. She followed closely behind.

**Well, guys, what the heck could be going on now? Guess we'll just have to find out next time, eh? Again, thanks to my reviewers! You guys are my gasoline, so to speak! See you all next time!**

**3 Freya**


	6. And Then He Said

**Wowee, guys, what happened? I mean like, one minute she was all knocked out, and then the next she soul sucked some random dude! O_O OMG, I just don't know what will happen next...LOL okay maybe I do, and you will soon. ;)**

**Anyway, guys, thank you once more to everyone who reviewed. You guys keep me going! Love ya'll!**

**3 Freya**

**And Then He Said…**

The sun had long since risen over the fortress of Genkai's compound, but the storm had yet to blow through, or even slacken at all. Though the sky was dark and dank, inside, the central gathering room glowed with a sweet light given from candles and a small fire. The occupants of said room were currently laughing and sharing a large kettle of tea that Yukina had lovingly prepared for all of them. Everyone seemed happy. Everyone but a certain fire demon, that was.

It was not uncommon to see Hiei's face marred by a scowl. In fact, it would have been much more alarming if he had been caught without one; but, that still didn't stop Botan from tossing worried glances in his direction. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but something was a bit off about him that day. She wondered if it was just the rotten weather. She herself was finding it to be quite depressing. She sighed. Ever since the day before, Hiei hadn't said one word to her. Not that she should have cared; he was a nasty little man sometimes, and last night had been no exception. Last night…

{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*

She had awoken in a rather strange situation. She'd remembered Kurama calling out to her as she'd taken to the sky in a panicked flight. She'd remembered the wind slapping and rolling her in frenzied patterns. She'd even remembered losing her grip on her oar and barely managing to make a semi-safe landing. After that, everything went dark for a while. She did, however, recall having the strangest and yet most delicious dream of her life.

A man… a low, smooth voice washing over her. The smell of earth, smoke and sweat had permeated her senses as a very warm hand had been carefully pulling the sticky, annoying strands of hair and clumps of mud from her scraped and raw face. She phased out for a bit and then came back in slowly as she felt the man lift her and her freezing face had instinctually sought out safety and heat of the crook of his throat. She'd had the most unexplainable urge to kiss that neck, to drag the flat of her tongue over the silk of that smoky flesh. Koenma would have been shocked at his top ferry girl entertaining such untoward thoughts. She had, of course, resisted; but, oh how she'd wanted to bury her nose in his hair, to sink her blunt white teeth into the hot satin chords at the pulse point of his throat. She'd vaguely remembered being shocked at her own self before she faded out again. Then, nothing had happened… at least for a bit.

She awoken again, but the man had been nowhere to be found. Actually, nothing had been anywhere. All she'd seen was white. She'd begun to get nervous, her head jerking this way and that, looking for the man or really anyone at that point. Her breathing had kicked up, and her heart was knocking in an uneven staccato in her chest. She'd called out and received only echoes of her own voice, further reminding her that she was probably utterly alone in that strange and frightening place. Just as she'd begun to really panic, a whisper answered her call. Botan spun around quickly and had nearly collided with, shockingly enough, herself! Her eyes had widened and her mouth dropped open as this strange doppelganger spoke in a voice nothing like her own.

"Hello, darling." That warm brandy wine voice had sent pleasant tingles through her body, almost like a lover's would. She'd looked at the woman and posed the inevitable question.

"Who are you? Are… are you me?" Her own voice had seemed small and cracked from overuse. The woman had blessed her with a radiant smile before that voice had sent heat spiraling through her core once more.

"Well now, love that is a bit of a question isn't it? To be blunt, I am you, but I am not you. What I really am will be explained in time; but right now, there is a much more important question that _you _must answer for _me." _The lovely lilt of her voice had left no doubt in Botan's mind that she would answer anything that this odd creature asked her. Botan had tilted her head to indicate that she'd understood.

"I have come to ask you if I may make use of your body for just a moment. The task that I wish to do is not something that you would normally approve of, but there is someone very important to you and your team at stake. Please try to understand that I do not make this request lightly." The woman had grabbed Botan's hands in her own, and Botan had felt a distinct zing of power run through her. She'd looked at the woman's eyes, identical mirrors to her own and knew that she would grant this lady's wish. No matter the cost to her.

"Botan, my heart, I must take a life." Botan's head swam. The woman had just dropped a bit of a bombshell on her. Take a life? Botan cringed. Sure, she dealt with death on a daily basis; but… those people had already lost their lives. They had already made the transition from living to dead. She had never lifted a treacherous finger towards anyone. The woman had then placed a soft hand on Botan's face, rousing her from her musings. Botan's eyes cleared and focused on the woman's eyes, once again struck by the queerness of seeing what was essentially, her own face staring back at her. Then, the woman had spoken, and Botan was lost in her.

"I realize that this may be a stretch for you, my love, but try. He threatens what is yours. You must allow me to protect your heart. Botan, let me do this." Botan's eyes cleared and she steeled herself, letting the woman know that she would not be cowed so easily.

"Botan, its Hiei." Botan had felt ice drip down her spine as a block of ice began to settle in her chest. Hiei was in danger. Someone was threatening Hiei… well why the heck should she care? That little twit had been the reason that she was in this weirdo situation in the first place! Her eyebrows had snapped together angrily over flashing amethyst eyes and she'd taken a deep breath, fully intending to let the woman know that Hiei could fry for all she'd cared. Then the image of him breathing into her mouth and dragging her to shore had invaded her mind and she'd groaned. Closing her eyes and inhaling harshly, she'd looked hard at the woman.

"Do it." The woman nodded, and everything had gone dark once again. She'd awoken a short time later, a white-faced Hiei looking down at her in the rain. She'd taken one look at his face and decided to play dumb. He'd obviously seen her body do that unpleasant thing, and it was best not to acknowledge that she'd known about it at that point.

The trek back to the temple in the rain had not been pleasant, and Botan had tripped several times. Eventually, Hiei had gotten tired of her grunts and disconcerted whines. He'd stopped, turned around and raised his left eyebrow at her. She'd offered him a sheepish little smile and pushed herself from the sodden underbrush. He'd still looked at her. Then, he'd surprised her by turning around and offering his back to her silently.

She'd gone very still, not quite sure what to do with him. She'd taken a few cautious, timid steps toward him before stopping in her tracks not two inches behind him. She'd reached out a questioning hand and laid it lightly on the space between his shoulder blades. He'd tensed. Quickly, she'd jerked her hand back into her chest and let out an almost inaudible gasp. His shoulders had relaxed a bit after that, and letting out a tiny sigh of his own, he'd turned once more to face her.

"Girl," he'd begun gruffly, "it's cold, wet and late. Perhaps you should stop being a skittish fool and get on so that we can both get back to the temple." He'd finished by looking at her expectantly. She sniffed and stuck her nose in the air.

"Well then, Mr. Grumpy Pants, if you're so tired, then maybe you should just head back on your own an leave us foolish ferry girls to our own devices," she's huffed as she'd started to take off without him, "Besides, I don't know why you came after me anyw—", she'd abruptly cut herself off as a hot bandaged hand engulfed her tiny cold one. She'd looked down, not daring to believe that Hiei would touch her out of choice, and yet… there it was. He'd grabbed hold of her and was forcing her to stay planted to that same spot. She'd looked at his face then, and had seen that he was staring hard at the ground. Then he spoke to her, that rough deep voice warming her to the point that it made her blush. She'd cursed her alabaster skin.

"If you… if you want to get stronger, ferry girl, then I'll train you." He'd let the statement stand as it were, and it hung between them awkwardly. She'd cleared her throat and smiled.

"Oh, Hiei, there's no need to…," she'd begun, then she'd stopped and thought about a few of the times that the others had saved her and changed her mind. She'd taken a deep cleansing breath. "Would you really do that, Hiei?" She'd looked back down at him.

"Hn. Stupid girl, I wouldn't have said so if I didn't intend to." Her eyes had widened at him and she'd squeezed the hand still firmly grasping her own. A brilliant smile had formed over her face then.

"Well alrighty then, Hiei. Or should I say master?" She'd let out a soft giggle. "When should I start?" Her excitement had begun to build… at least until he'd looked back up at her and killed the smile on her face. His own mouth had twitched up into something akin to his maniacal killing smile, and the grip on her hand became crushing. She'd tried to wriggle out of his grasp, at once regretting the decision to accept his offer, but he'd held even tighter, to the point that the fragile bones in her fingers had begun to crack. He'd let out a slight chuckle of his own, the sound of it chilling her instantly. Then he'd said, "Now."

She'd barely had time to register what he'd said before he'd jerked her forward, and his free fist connected solidly with her abdomen. She'd expelled a sharp whooshing breath as he'd let her go and she'd fallen backwards, skidding for a bit on the slimy mud. She'd laid there for a moment, not believing that he'd actually hit her. She'd rolled to her side and coughed, her stomach rolling beneath her stinging flesh. His shadow had covered the ground at her side, and he'd squatted by her, offering his hand once again. She cautiously accepted, and was immediately rewarded with a hard, flat palmed slap to her right shoulder. She'd slammed right back into the mud.

"Lesson one, girl, never trust your enemy. He's not there to help you up, and he won't wait for you to finish wiggling around in the dirt before he attacks again. You must learn to become adept in the knowledge of reading your opponent's body language. This will tell you if he is ready to throw the first punch, or if you have a bit more time to plan your next move. It will also tell you if there are weak spots that you may exploit. Just now, you left yourself open completely to me. I was able to immediately find at least seven major areas in which to take you down. Not to mention that you allowed for me to keep positive control on a part of your body. Never do that again. Now, get up." He'd stood, and offered that dangerous hand of his once more. She's eyed it wearily, and decided against taking it. She'd stiffly risen then, and walked right past him, that pert little nose sticking right back into the air. Unfortunately, her new master wasn't one for disrespect of any kind, and the wind was once again slammed out of her as he'd pushed her from behind. Face down in the mud; she'd slapped the ground next to her and pushed up to her knees. She'd spit out a chunk of grass that had lodged into her teeth, whirled her head around to stare daggers at her "master".

"Hiei! Was that really quite necessary? I understood you the first time!" She'd gotten unsteadily to her feet and kept walking. He's slammed into her again. However, this time instead of letting her lay and stew in her frustration, he'd flipped her over and sat on her middle. Her eyes had widened considerably as he'd also pinned her hands down at her head. His face hadn't betrayed any emotion. Surprise.

"Obviously, girl, you're denser than I thought. Not ten seconds after I'd instructed you not to, you turned your back on me… twice. Did you really think I would just let you walk away unscathed?" he chuckled darkly. "Come now, little ferry girl, what kind of master would that make me? Now, lesson over. Let's return before the Fox sends out a search and rescue squad." He'd stood, and her skin had immediately missed the warmth of him. Slowly, she'd gotten to her feet again, her eyes never leaving his face. He'd smirked at her, and turned with her to walk back to the temple.

{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*{*

"Botan…Botan….AY, BOTAN!" Yusuke called out to his glassy-eyed friend. She jerked and looked at him, a brilliant smile pasting itself to her face. He didn't buy it for a second. "Hey, girl, what's wrong with you? I haven't seen you this quiet since Koenma disapproved your vacation to Tijuana… say why _did _you want to go there anyway?" He smirked evilly as she blushed and looked away from him. Keiko slapped his shoulder softly and shook her head. He frowned; disappointed that she'd had cut off his fun before it got really good. So he contented himself with staring at Keiko's breasts. Yep, that was much better.

Meanwhile, Kurama and Shizuru had both been keeping their eyes and Botan and Hiei. Something was definitely off about them; had been ever since they'd trudged back through the front door that morning. He had waited on the front porch, Shizuru propped up and sleeping soundly against his shoulder. Though the sounds of the rain and thunder were rather soothing, he'd hoped that they would get back in a timely manner, as the cold and damp had begun to seep into his bones; but he refused to sleep until he'd seen Hiei bring the girl back. Finally, after what seemed like hours of nothing, they'd broken the tree line and headed straight inside. Botan seemed to be okay, if walking a little stiffly. He chalked it up to the rough flight that she must have endured. Hiei on the other hand…

Kurama trailed his gaze up to the window sill, where Hiei was lounging, seemingly lost in his own thoughts. Kurama wondered if his hand had been bothering him, as every few minutes, he would unconsciously reach his other one over and run his fingers on the inside of his bandaged palm. Oddly enough, Botan had been doing just the same thing to her hand. Kurama's eyes narrowed slightly. Yes, something was most assuredly going on. He'd wait just a bit longer to find out what. He snapped out of his reverie as Kuwabara let out a loud cackle at something that Yukina has said. The girl blushed and gave him a small smile as Kuwabara continued to barrage her with compliments. From the sill, Hiei growled softly, and Kurama shot him a warning look. Hiei sent a look right back that told Kurama exactly where the little demon thought he should go.

Botan chose that moment to shift out of her stupor, and rise. She walked to the shoji and slid it open softly. Stepping outside onto the porch, she looked up at the sky. Her soft voice floated through the room.

"Koenma's coming."

Lightning streaked across the sky and thunder boomed as a small dot became visible through the thick cloud cover. It grew steadily in size for a moment until Koenma's carriage could be seen, poor George driving it through the storm, of course. It landed with a sound thump in Genkai's side yard, and the ogre jumped down at once to open the door for his master. Then Koenma stepped out, his teenage form prevalent for today's occasion. He looked quite serious. His eyes landed on Botan, and he made a beeline straight for her. She'd barely managed to greet him before he'd grabbed the same hand that Hiei had been holding a few scant hours before and jerked her away from the prying eyes of the team. They all looked at one another, and then straight at George, who gave them a sheepish smile.

He led her around the far corner of the porch, and tossed open the door to her room. He shoved her inside and slapped the shoji shut behind them. Then he shocked her by throwing his arms around her and holding her to his chest tightly. She froze, unsure of what to make of this strange reaction.

"Koenma? Sir? Goodness, are you alright?" She awkwardly put her arms around his shoulders. He turned his face into her hair and held tighter still. She smiled a bit as she felt his binky brush her ear.

"My God, Botan, I should ask you the same question. What in the world happened here this morning? It woke all of Spirit World in a terror. Even my father looked worried! Didn't you feel that massive disturbance? For that matter, didn't Yusuke or Kurama?" He pulled back from her his hands still keeping a firm grasp on her shoulders as he looked over. Then he reached up and brushed the bangs from her face. "Everyone was so worried about you, Botan. We thought something terrible had happened to you! I could barely keep my poor wife consoled!" Botan smiled and shot a quick glance down at the gold band encircling Koenma's left finger.

"And how is dear Ayame? Still struggling with the morning sickness? You know they say it passes in the second trimester." Koenma gave her a stern, searching look, and she sighed. "Koenma…tell me something. Where did I come from?" He jerked and his eyes grew wide for a moment before he collected himself. He let go of her and stepped back. Her eyes narrowed on his face.

"W-Why would you wanna know that, Botan? Ha ha… don't be silly, girl, you came to us the same way all of the other ferry girls do. Ya know, you were alive, then you weren't alive, then we picked you 'cause you had spiritual abilities and a sweet disposition. That's all…nothing more." He started to sweat, and his face had gone very pale. She knew she had him.

"Sir, if that was true, then why can't I remember my previous life?"

"Uh, well I—"

"And how come you're acting like I've just burned you?"

"You see, the funny thing is—"

"And why are you stuttering? You only do that when you lie." She let the sentence hang, and silence engulfed them. Then he let out a long sigh.

"Botan, can we discuss this back in Spirit World? Away from prying eyes and ears?" He jumped as the shoji slapped open behind them.

"Hn. I'm afraid not, toddler. The girl has chosen to study under me, and as her teacher, I demand to know everything about my new student." Hiei stepped in and slid the door shut softly, casting all three of them into a soft gray shadow. "Now, brat, your little ferry girl performed a neat trick out in the woods this morning, and you know exactly what it is. You will tell me or else."

"Hiei," Koenma said, "how long have you been listening to this _private_ conversation?"

"Tch, long enough to know that something stinks around here, and I think it's you." He placed his thumb under the hilt of his sword, his warning clear. Talk or die. Koenma rolled his eyes.

"Now now, Hiei, guerilla tactics will get you nowhere. I haven't told any of you because it's really none of your business. And who gave you permission to "train" my ferry girl?" Koenma put his hands on his hips and looked hard at Hiei.

"Hn, as if I need anyone's permission to do anything; but if you want your answer, ask her." He nodded his head toward Botan. Koenma turned and found Botan fidgeting with a loose thread on the edge of her sleeve. He raised his brows, his command clear. Her shoulders slumped and she looked up at him with pleading eyes.

"Koenma, I was going to tell you about it today. I asked Hiei to train me to fight so I can quit being such a liability on missions. I…I just want to be able to hold my own out there, that's all." Koenma made a small noise and placed a finger under her chin. Hiei tensed.

"Botan, if you wanted to learn how to fight, then why didn't you ask one of our soldiers to teach you? I'm not opposed to you having a few more defensive skills. What about General Hayate? You two have always gotten along so well, and I know he'd make an excellent teacher to you." She cast her eyes downward, clearly not intending to answer him, so Hiei stepped in.

"She knows I'm the best, and that your pathetic _soldiers _don't have a hope of beating me. Now, enough of the sidetracking, Koenma, tell me what the hell I saw this morning." He crossed his arms over his chest and glared up at Koenma. The demi-god visibly wilted. He took a moment, and then he drew himself up to his full height and took a long pull on his mufuken. He turned and put and arm around Botan's shoulders and gently pulled them both to the ground. Hiei stood over them. Koenma sighed, and then spoke lowly in the growing darkness.

"Botan, you have to understand… back then… things were different. Chaos reigned inside Spirit World and across the plains Demon World. My father was at his wits end, all of us were working around the clock, and our soldiers were dropping like flies. It could all be attributed to one demon." Koenma looked as though something foul had settled in his mouth, and his eyes darkened to a rich chocolate. "His name was Akio, but everyone just called him Boss. Though his name means "bright and heroic", he was anything but. He was deadly, like a poison spreading slowly through the veins of everyone in the two worlds. It was his mission to take by force all that did not belong to him. He was responsible for the brutal torture and murder of millions of Demon World's citizens." Koenma sighed again and ran his quick hand through his honey hued strands.

"As if that wasn't horrible enough, he'd even begun to kidnap humans and drag them over the border between the two lands. As you understand, humans were quite skittish about things such as demons and gods back then. So when their clansmen and women started disappearing, they naturally panicked." Hiei snorted and Koenma shot him a look. "All of this was putting a huge strain on my father, who had dispatched thousands of soldiers to bring him down. They were all killed. Well, all but one. It was young Hayate and as you know, Botan, he is now a general in father's special defense forces. Not two days before the attack that killed his entire unit, his commanding officer sent him back to Spirit World to give word to my father. He came back to us beat up and bloodied, so we instantly knew that the news wasn't going to be good. It was confirmed when father let out a cry that shook the heavens and sent storms to Earth. Hayate was given furlough and sent back to his base camp to recover. We didn't hear anything from father after that. Finally, weeks later, just when everything seemed like it would explode, he called me back into his throne room. I didn't know what exactly to expect, but what I found was the farthest thing from my imagination." Koenma turned and faced Botan. He once again ran a loving hand over her bangs.

"There, right in the middle of the throne room, was a woman; and not just any woman, Botan… you." Her eyes widened as a slap of thunder shook the room and the rain picked up. Hiei unconsciously moved closer to them and sat down. "You were the most exquisite creature I had ever seen. You hair, your skin, your spirit… it was all flawless, exotic. You were sleeping then, and it was all I could do to tear my eyes from you. Father laughed at me and picked you up. He took you to the white marble alter that sits in the corner of the room, and laid you very gently down. He told me to stand next to you and put my hand over your face. He opened your mouth and pulled out a sacred ritual knife. At first, I thought he meant to slay you, and I protested, but he only silenced me and held my hand steady over your mouth. Then, he said the strangest thing: _"From you, my son, the cure is born"._ He sliced my hand and kept me from jerking back as my blood dripped into your mouth." He wrinkled his nose. "I found it quite distasteful, and saw no reason for making you drink it. At first, nothing happened; but after a few seconds, you gasped and opened your eyes. Color flooded your face and you reached out blindly to me. I caught your hand and instantly knew what you were." He cut himself off and looked at her, as if arguing with himself as to whether or not he should tell her. Then, he pulled his shoulders back and grabbed her hands hard in his own.

"Botan, there's a good reason that you've never remembered your life as a living being on Earth. It's because you've never had one." She looked flummoxed. "My father created you by mixing the energies of all three worlds. He created you to cleanse the taint that Boss had created. My blood was just the last piece of the puzzle." Her eyes had glazed over with unshed tears and Hiei looked at him with disbelief wrinkling his brow. "I named you, and then George was summoned to take you away and dress you. After you left, father took me back to the throne, and I knelt at his feet. He looked thoughtful for a moment, and then he said: _"My son, you have done well these last weeks without me; allow me to reward you with rest. Everything is going to be alright. That girl… she is the answer. Next to me, there are none more powerful. He will not win". _Botan gave a small gasp and sat back hard against Hiei. He didn't seem to notice. Then, his eyebrows slammed together and he grabbed her shoulders hard.

"Wait a minute, brat, do you really expect me to believe that _this_ weak little girl is the warrior who took out Boss? That's absurd! Every child in Demon World grew up hearing stories of this mysterious man who saved us; and now you're trying to tell me that not only was _he _a _she_, but she's sitting right here? That's nonsense. This girl can't even keep herself upright when she's flying!"

"Hey—"

"Quiet, little girl, the big boys are talking!"

"Well, in a manner of speaking…" She muttered under her breath. Hiei growled and shook her a bit.

"Tell me why, brat, if this woman is really that warrior… why can't she fight?" Koenma looked a bit impatient.

"I'm getting to that part, Hiei, calm down; and let her go before you rattle her brains out! She'll be no good to us if she's a vegetable!" Koenma relaxed a bit as Hiei's grip on her shoulders lessened, if only slightly. He narrowed his eyes on Hiei's hands, but continued nonetheless. "Anyway… after a few weeks of teaching you the basic life skills i.e.: eating, walking, talking, etc., we filled you in on the situation in the other two realms, which had become dramatically worse since my father's absence. You were, of course, outraged and wanted to go as soon as possible. It took a lot of persuading on my part to get you to stay. After all, you still had no idea how to fight, much less control the power that you were given. So, we summoned Hayate back from his camp to train you in basic martial arts. Father had assured me that your strengths would not lie in hand-to-hand combat, but in the abilities that'd he'd given you. He'd also created a nearly impassable defense field around you."

"Wait a minute, toddler, did you say _nearly _impassable? You mean there's a flaw?"

"Yes, Hiei, there's a chink in her armor, if you will." Koenma looked back at Botan, a queer light in his eyes. She squared her shoulders and tilted her head, her mouth thinning into a tight line on her face. Koenma once again reached for her hands, and it occurred to Botan that between Hiei's hands gripping her upper arms, and Koenma's folded over hers, she'd never been touched so much in one day. "Botan… father purposely made a flaw in your defense shield. It's a fail-safe. He wanted to know that if you ever turned on us or if Boss corrupted you that we could… well we could stop you." Her eyes became impossibly wide and two tears slipped past her lashes. Hiei tensed as Koenma continued.

"I volunteered to keep you close to me, to watch you for any signs that you were breaking or that something was wrong. Then, the day finally came that Hayate and a small group of men took you to Demon World. It was both the best and worst day of my life. I knew somehow that you would put an end to the mess in those realms, but I also feared what would happen to you. You see, you had shown a certain… dislike, shall we call it, for harming anyone; even when it was necessary, there were days after when you were all but immobile. At that time, you had never killed anything, and only my father knew exactly what your powers were." Koenma paused for a moment, and then he smiled. "You were gone all of three hours before I summoned George and forced him to take me down to the battle field where you and the others were fighting. I just couldn't stomach sitting idly by while you were putting your life on the line for us." She returned his smile and squeezed his hand.

"When we got there… God, it was like something out of a nightmare. There were men lying dead or dying as far as I could see, the ground was ripped to shreds; even the sky looked like it was boiling. I spotted you immediately. How could I not? You were radiant!" He scrubbed his hands over his face and rolled his neck to relieve some of the tension. "I had never seen you like that. Hell, none of us had, save my father. The raw power flowing through you was… astonishing. I think even Yusuke would have had quite a time taking you down. Akio certainly was. God, Botan, it looked like you dragged him through the mud! Twice! You, on the other hand, looked wonderful… terrible and frightening. I barely recognized you. Hiei, you must've seen what I'm talking about." Hiei darted a glance at his new student, and then back at Koenma. He did indeed remember her face as she'd ruthlessly taken down that weak idiot in the forest. He nodded at Koenma as Botan looked up at him.

"There was something animalistic in your face, Bo. I couldn't take my eyes off of you. Then you moved toward him, and it was like he was frozen. You reached your hand out and touched him, and then you pulled a tiny black thread from his chest. Suddenly it all clicked for me. Your power was something that had never existed before outside of my father's throne room. You had the ability to extract a person's life, their very soul and destroy it; and it was as easy as a flick of your tongue." Her eyes snapped shut, and more tears slid silently down her face. Hiei steadied her. Amidst all of what she'd just heard, she was still struck by the strangeness of Hiei willingly putting his hands on her. It was as if he was protecting something he'd recently stolen, and Koenma had come to take it back.

"It was incredible, but there was a problem. Akio had found your weakness sometime during the course of your fight. Just as you put his life thread in your mouth, one of his little goons struck you, and you slipped. His life thread only tore a bit. You fell, and wounded, he slipped away. George and I ran to you, and were relieved to see that you were only knocked out. So, I bundled you into my coat, and we took you home, Hayate and our surviving men following closely." He finished and silence engulfed the room, save for the soft patter of rain, which had pulled back to a drizzle. She allowed herself to rest her weight fully against Hiei's chest. He was strung tight as a bow, and he jerked as her shoulders his muscles. Then she shook her head and squeezed Koenma's hands.

"Koenma Sir, that can't be it. What happened to Akio? What happened to me after the battle and… why can't I remember anything? No, there has to be more to this story." Her eyes implored him to continue, while Hiei's demanded it. Koenma ran an unsteady hand through his already messy hair.

"Botan, please understand. When we brought you back to Spirit World, you weren't yourself. You were frantic. You really thought you'd killed him outright. You didn't realize that he was alive, and as much as you wanted to stop him, the thought that you'd willingly taken life nearly destroyed you. You began falling apart. You'd wake the whole palace with your night terrors. Eventually, I moved you into my room so I could watch over you while you slept. The first few nights that you spent in my bed were fine. We would come in from work, take separate showers, and turn in. We'd say goodnight, and then sleep. That was all. Well, you did like to be held, but I didn't mind it so much. After all, my blood was in your veins, so to speak; but not even a week later, you were tossing and turning. Then you began screaming and sweating. Finally, you became so violent that we had to tie you down at night."

"During the day, you were listless. It was like the light had left your eyes, and it broke everyone's heart. It wasn't long before my father took pity on you. He wanted to kill you and release your spirit, but I couldn't let him. I begged and pleaded with him for days. I argued that you could be saved, and that we would need you again someday. Eventually, he gave in and helped you in another way. It… is the reason why you don't remember anything." He looked at Hiei and Botan, silently begging them not to make him say the reason behind her amnesia. Hiei scoffed.

"So, a grim reaper who can't kill, how pathetic. You'll have to get over that little phobia if you'll be training with me, ferry girl." Botan held up her hand to quiet him, and then she addressed Koenma, steel in her voice.

"Koenma, why can't I remember?" Her eyes had turned hard as flint. He stared right back and squeezed her hand so hard that his wedding ring was cutting into her fingers.

"Because he split your soul in half."

**Woo guys! That was nuts! What's gonna happen to Botan? Where is Akio? Why is Hiei being so overprotective? All this and more on the next installment of… this weird story! **

**3 Freya**


	7. Shake On It?

**Okay, everyone, I know that a lot happened in the last chapter. I also know that this thing with Botan's soul and Hiei's odd behavior toward her is coming waaaaayyyyy out of left field for some of you; but, trust me! I totally have a plan that'll tie everything together. Ya'll just read on and look pretty! Keep those reviews coming, loves, I'm an attention whore! Ya'll keep me wanting to write for you! :D **

**3 Freya**

**I still own diddly squat nothin' about Yu Yu Hakusho…**

**Shake On It?**

"Okay, like… I'm only gonna say this one more time. What the hell?" Yusuke shrieked. Koenma cringed.

"Yusuke, I know this may be a stretch for you, but please try and remain calm. You panicking about this isn't going to help anyone. Actually, you might even set off a chain reaction and freak everyone else out. So again… shove it if you can." Koenma shot him an annoyed look which Yusuke returned in full force.

"This doesn't make any damned sense, Koenma. Did that binky finally suck _your _brains out for a change? I mean really, man. First, you come hurling out of the sky like Spirit World is on fire or something. Then, instead of popping in for a brief chat, or even a: _"Hey guys, how's it goin'? Oh, by the way, thanks for saving my tiny rash covered ass yet again!"_ you make a mad dash for Botan and man-handle her halfway across the friggin' house. Oh, and side note, would your wife approve of that? Your _pregnant hormonal _wife! Finally, after you, her, and the Shrimp over there disappear for like an hour and leave us all scratching our heads and giving George twenty-one questions, you're seriously gonna come back up here and try to spoon feed me some crap about Botan being some ancient unstoppable killing machine?... Really? God, that sounds even dumber when I recite it aloud!" He finished with a huff and crossed his arms over his chest. Koenma cocked a brow and sighed.

"Yusuke, I realize that the concept of our Botan being so strong is, in a word, _difficult _to accept; but, you have to trust me on this one. Everything happened the way that I said it did. Ask Hiei! He's seen her in action." All eyes locked onto Hiei, who gave a noncommittal grunt in response. Yusuke deadpanned.

"Right…well, Hiei's wealth of information on this subject certainly settles it for me. Kurama? How's about you? Didn't you find Hiei's speech to be riveting?" He swung his gaze over to the fox, who was sitting in a tight little corner and staring off into space. At the sound of his name, he blinked and switched his attention to Yusuke.

"Now, Yusuke, we mustn't be so quick to jump to conclusions. There is obviously something odd going on around here. I know you felt the power spikes last night. We all did. Even Keiko said that she woke with the chills this morning; and you know that she can't really even- Yusuke? Yusuke!" Kurama barked at his daydreaming friend. Yusuke jumped and gave a deviant little smirk.

"Sorry, Foxy, I was just remembering how beautiful those "chills" looked when liberally applied to Keiko's nipp—ouch? Oh come on, Kuwabara! A pillow?" Yusuke grabbed the fluffy projectile and lugged it back toward his friend. Kuwabara caught it lightly and hugged it to his middle.

"Gross, Urameshi, I don't think anyone here wants to know exactly what got your juices flowin' so early this mornin'. It should disgrace you as a man to discuss such things about your _fiancée_ in front of present company! 'Sides, I don't wanna think of Keiko in that inappropriate manner! She's like my sister, and I _definitely _don't ever wanna think of Shizuru in that way. Disgusting… eh sorry, Kurama." Kuwabara's face broke into a sweet smile, which Kurama returned.

"No worries, Kuwabara. I'm sure I wouldn't want to think of my brother in such a manner either." From the center of the room, Koenma cleared his throat, shifting all of the focus back to himself.

"Please, guys, can we concentrate? I think we can all agree that no one wants to think of their siblings that way. Now, getting back to Botan, her… unique situation could become a real problem, especially when I get to the other reason that I came here." His voice was somber, and it had a stilling effect on the men. He craned his neck to and fro, obviously making sure that no one else was within earshot.

"Well shoot then, Koenma. The girls are all out grabbing us lunch so they won't hear. The floor is yours, my liege!" Yusuke said, his sarcasm chipping at some of the icy tension in the room. Koenma graciously accepted the nickname with a roll of his eyes.

"Thank you, my loyal subject. Now listen closely. Hiei, you especially need to pay attention if you're really planning on doing what we'd discussed earlier."

"Which was…?"

"None of your business at his point, Yusuke, though you all may be needed later for his little side job. For the record, Hiei, I still don't really approve; but Botan has her heart set on this, so I suppose I have no real choice in the matter. At least if I want to keep her happy and cooperative…" Koenma closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. He knew that the team was anxiously awaiting his other news, but he didn't quite know how to phrase it delicately. Just spewing it out there could make a couple of them pretty nervous, while beating around the bush could just tick them off. What to do, what to do?

"Hn. Just spit it out, toddler," Hiei grouched from the window sill. Well, Koenma thought dryly, there's my answer. He pulled a deep breath in through his nostrils and looked Yusuke dead in his eyes.

"We've received intelligence of unusual things happening deep inside the borders of a specific part of Demon World; things like people vanishing in the middle of the night, people getting sick, people acting strangely and breaking from their normal routines, etc. Right now, the primary people affected seem to be young, able bodied men. I'd like to put a stop to this before the women and children get involved." He rolled his neck to pop it. "To make matters worse, we also believe that a territory ruler may be providing aid to the individual that we believe to be responsible for the odd fluctuations. The reasoning behind this alliance is not clear at this time, but nevertheless it cannot be tolerated. The safety of Demon World hinges on this being squashed at the lowest possible level. However, on the flip side, too hasty of an action may alert the resistance to our plans and things could get pretty hairy. Right now, I think that the best course of action is for you all to go in and warn the other rulers and their cabinets to be on the lookout before this gets any worse." He popped his knuckles then. "Now, just in case that little ditty wasn't exciting enough, here's where the situation gets a little stickier." He looked around the room at each of their faces until his eyes brushed Hiei's. The fire demon narrowed his gaze and sat forward a bit. "Hiei, traces of the individual's energy signals are coming from inside Mukuro's fortress." Hiei gave no outward sign of the shock he felt.

'_Impossible. Why would she keep something like this from me?'_

"Yo, Huggies," Yusuke's voice had taken on the gravelly tone that came when he was finally serious, "what else is going on out there? I wasn't going to bring it up yet, but since ya beat me to the punch, I've been getting some of my own guys coming to me and telling me that some freaky crap is going down in my own territory that coincides with what you were saying. I'm sure that Kurama could tell you the same thing, right? I hear that Yomi's hackles have been raised for quite a few days over some crap like that." The Fox nodded in agreement. "They've been saying that guys are just disappearing from their posts during the night roves; and the ones who don't go missing are acting weird when they come back in for change of shift. I was going back for a few days and snoop around, but I think you can just save me the trouble. What the hell else do you know about this?" Yusuke fisted a hand under his chin and leaned in toward Koenma. His message was unmistakable: talk.

Koenma looked at his young Detective and marveled at how at that moment, he looked every inch the ruler that he was destined to be someday. He had truly come a long way since the days of Rando. Koenma folded his hands in his lap and for the first time, comfortably addressed Yusuke as a man of equal status.

"These strange things have happened before, Yusuke, but only once. Everyone in Spirit World remembers." He sighed. "Now comes the reason that I didn't want Botan or the girls around… the last time that these things began happening was about a year before Botan was created." He let that message sink in for a second before he added, "It started happening just before Akio took over Demon World and nearly destroyed it."

Outside the temple, the howling wind and rain picked up again. Inside the central gathering room, one could hear a pin drop.

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"ACHOO!" Botan rubbed her stinging nose. "Goodness! Someone must be talking about me." She smiled sweetly, her face taking on a distinct cat-like overtone. Shizuru snorted.

"Pft, yea, or it could be that this place is covered in pollen. My nose has been running like a friggin faucet for two days now." The annoyed brunette flicked a stray hair out of her eye and pulled a cigarette from her purse. She studied Botan, who was reaching up on her tip-toes to put away some cereal that they'd picked up for the boys. It was weird… the entire time that they'd been out, Botan had been nearly silent. That in itself was enough to worry Shizuru, but to add to it, she'd looked like she was arguing with herself the whole time. To top it all off, the one time that Yukina had mentioned Hiei's name, she'd blushed. Hard. Like, the girl could have put a cherry to shame. Yes, something weird was definitely going on in this house… good thing her boyfriend was on a team of detectives! She'd just have to talk to him about it later.

Koenma chose that moment to enter the room, and Shizuru instantly hated the look on his face. It was the same worried frown that always painted his features just before a mission. She'd known that his visit today wasn't a social call, she'd just chosen to push it to the back of her mind until Kurama told her himself that he'd be gone again. She winced slightly, realizing that he fox would be in a nasty mood for the rest of the day. She sighed and pulled on her purse, rooting through it until she found her emergency pack of smokes. She knew that Kurama would be disappointed that she'd fallen off the wagon, but well…she needed one just then.

She placed the cigarette to her lips and lit it just as the men walked into the kitchen. She cursed her luck when she saw Kurama who, much to her annoyance walked right up to her and plucked the cigarette from between her lips. She considered biting him. He gave her a smug look, and crushed the still burning thing right inside of his palm. He didn't even flinch.

"You know what, Fox Boy, if you weren't one of my favorite people, I'd crush you right here, right now! I've beaten people for less!" Her eyebrows formed a furious "V" over her flashing honey eyes, and her small hands had curled into tight fists at her sides. Kurama narrowed his eyes at her and stuck his hand and the cigarette in his pocket. She knew that she'd made a mistake crossing him then when she felt his aura swirl with burning anger. His eyes turned golden, and nearly swallowed her whole. She wished that they were somewhere private, but he was obviously too far gone with growing rage to care about the others, who had all but stopped breathing to keep his attention off of them. They understood his wild nature very well, and no one made any sudden moves lest they attract his more feral side. Then he let loose a growl that froze her blood and made the other women shiver.

"Shizuru, it's going to be hard enough keeping you alive with my line of work. If you insult me by dying due to some stupid little weed that I _can't _control with my abilities, then so help me God, I'll rip you back down from the heavens and kill you myself." His low raspy voice had frozen everyone in the kitchen, and they all looked on at their two friends. Swallowing the ice in her throat, Shizuru forced her lips into a thin line and glared at him. To hell with everyone else in the room! This little doggy wasn't going to get away to emotionally man-handling the likes of her!

"Well then, Mr. Hero, you'll excuse me if I don't agree. Do you have any idea what it's like for me, hell for all of us girls, watching you guys disappear into the sunset every time some emergency in a foreign land happens? I worry about you _all the time. _So, guess what," she hissed, "if I need a little "_weed" _to calm my nerves and help me get through the day, then you can just suck it!" With that, she grabbed another cigarette from her purse, lit it, sucked in a mouth full of smoke, and blew it right in Kurama's face. Then she turned and stormed out of the door. His mouth hung open stupidly.

Silence descended over the group. Shock colored their faces. Shock that Kurama and Shizuru had engaged in a lovers' spat in front of anyone, much less the entire group. Shock that Shizuru and Kurama would argue at all. Even worse was that she had a point, and all of the men knew it.

"Well what the hell was that all about?" Kuwabara grumped, trying to break the tension. It didn't work.

They fidgeted uncomfortably next to their women.

It was all in all a very sensitive topic among their little family group. Sure, the men were completely aware that the women worried, but talking about it with them always seemed pointless. They were still going to have to complete missions, and their lovers were still going to be left behind to pick each other up.

Hiei silently thanked whatever power that was that he didn't have a woman to contend with. He flicked a glance over at Botan, whose face was tight with some unsaid emotion. He cleared his throat and looked at her full on. She jumped a bit and looked down at him. He whipped his head to the side, telling her without words to meet him outside. She nodded and followed.

She looked up at the sky once they had made it outside. Her nose wrinkled at the rain that had picked back up into a gale-force storm once again. Mercy, would it ever stop? It was almost like this storm was unnatural or something. Ah, whatever…

"Girl, go to your room and pack your things. We're going to Demon World tonight." His monotone voice was barely heard over the tapping of the rain on the roof.

"Tonight? Goodness, Hiei, isn't it a little soon to be leaving? And just look at this weather! We'd be lucky to make it half-way there in this mess." He cut her off with a sharp glance.

"Hn. I didn't ask whether or not you _wanted _to go. I said _we're going._ End of discussion. Now go get your things before I decide to re-teach you the lesson you learned this morning." She gave him a searching look and nodded before she turned on her heal and padded off to her room.

Hiei had just turned his attention back to the rain when the shoji slid open softly behind him. He sensed that Yusuke was going to pay him a little visit. He rolled his eyes. All three of them… Then Yusuke walked up behind him and plopped down cross legged. Sighing, Hiei turned around to face his teammate and was met with a sight he did not enjoy seeing. Serious Yusuke face.

"So," he began dryly, "exactly when were ya plannin' on tellin' the rest of us that you and Botan were eloping? Seriously, Hiei, Demon World is nice and all, but there are much better spots to get married right here in Human World. Take the Bahamas for example. Don't you think that a beautiful lady like Botan deserves a better place to run off to than a friggin desert full of thugs?" Yusuke placed a palm under his chin a leaned in toward the now twitching fire demon. "Plus, you should think about the wedding night. Do you really want sand in…ya know…_those_ places?" Yusuke waggled his eyebrows suggestively at his friend, who dropped his red face in his hand and groaned.

"For the love of God, Detective, just shut your mouth. Don't give your idiotic opinions on things that a: don't concern you, and b: you're way off base about. That stupid girl and I are not "eloping" as you call it, nor are we involved anyway sexually. Now, why don't you go back inside and worry about your own relationship?" Hiei looked at Yusuke, who was staring at him with soft eyes.

"Hey come on, Hiei, I was just joking. Mind telling me why you're really whisking our girl off into the sunset?" More thunder and lightning colored the scene.

"Not that it's any of your business, Yusuke, but I'm training her. She wants to be stronger on missions, so she asked me to make her so." Hiei stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked away from Yusuke. The detective shifted a bit and blew out a soft breathy chuckle through his nostrils.

"Ah, I see…You do realize, Hiei, that if you hurt her… I'll kill you." The cheer had never left his voice, the smile never sloughed off his face, but his eyes were carved from the hardest steel. His gaze never wavered from the demon's. Hiei smirked and gave a chuckle of his own.

"You should keep such foolish sentiments to yourself or your woman, Detective. I won't hurt her. Oh, she may end up a little bloody, but she'll live." They stared at each other for a few seconds, neither one willing to budge. Suddenly, Botan called from around the other side of the house.

"Hiei… oops… I mean, master! What kinds of clothes should I pack?"

Her voice broke the tension between the two men and Yusuke reached up to clap Hiei on his shoulder. Then he stood and turned to walk inside. Just before he entered the kitchen, he stopped and glance back at Hiei from over his shoulder.

"Oh, and Hiei," he said playfully, "You don't blush quite that hard when someone suggests marriage to someone that ya hate. Watch those hands, you lady killer you! Ohohohohoh…" With that, he hopped over the thresh hold and snapped the door shut on an open mouthed Hiei.

"Master?" Her sweet voice rang once again over the engawa, and Hiei turned with a huff and headed to her room to supervise her packing job.

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Thirty minutes and one slightly miffed fire demon later, Botan was finally holding her pink Versace suitcase and her white Douney and Bourke makeup bag.

"Well," she said flicking a stray sweaty hair from her eyes, "that should be about it! Should we say good bye to the others now?" He studied her, and then shook his head.

"Hn. Don't bother. Sentimental crap like that will only weigh you down. Now come on, the sun is setting again, and it's a full moon out tonight in Demon World. We should try and get to my base camp before the werewolves go hunting."

Botan swallowed audibly and followed him into the storm, silently throwing well wishes and "I love you's" to all who were still inside. She cursed herself again. She'd promised she wouldn't cry…

**Alrighty, guys! Things start to heat up between them in the next chapter. And don't worry! Kurama and Shizuru are fine! Til next time!**

**3 Freya**


	8. Put Your Hands On Me

**Good morrow, me loves! I'm sorry that my updates have been slow, but I'm kinda at a cross roads in my life. Changing jobs, going to school, and moving states! O_O Hopefully, everyone still likes this thing. Don't worry! Things start to heat up with our duo reaaaaally soon. Love everyone who is reading and who left me such lovely reviews. Can't say it enough, ya'll keep me going.**

**I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of the characters.**

**Put Your Hands On Me**

"Ouch!" she squealed for the fifth time that hour. He growled and swung around to face her.

"What, girl? What in the world could POSSIBLY be the problem now? Oh let me guess! Giant mosquito? Tripped on a branch? Oh, no wait, you're pretty pink baggage scraped your leg again? I told you not to pack all of that!" His face was rapidly turning an interesting shade of red, aggravation swirling through his aura.

"No, I…"

"You?..."

"Well, you see, master…"

"Just spit it out!"

"I started my period this morning and I'm cramping, okay?" Her face matched his in color as they stared at each other, different degrees of horror painting their features. Then without warning, his eyebrows slammed together and he planted his hands on his hips. When he spoke to her, his voice was not soft.

"Tell me that you brought something along to plug that little leak. There are predators in these woods! They'll catch that scent a mile away!" He crossed his arms. His face was still red, but the emotion covering his aura now was something very different. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but if looks were anything to go by, he was just plain humiliated.

"Don't worry," she said as she fidgeted with the handles of her luggage, "I at least remembered that." She felt heat crawling up her neck and into her cheeks, and she knew that he could see it. Cursing her white skin once more, she wished at that moment that it was possible for her to die…or at least melt into the underbrush.

He spun on his heel and walked three paces, only to whip right back around and march up to her. He looked hard at her, and poked his finger into her chest, grazing the blisters that he'd made the night before. She winced as tiny stings shot through her breast.

"No, I'm glad this came up. It gives me an opportunity to set something straight. Don't think that just because you're a woman, and you have _needs," _his face scrunched up like he'd tasted something foul, "that I'm going to take it easy on you. Ever! I'm not going to care the next time you start this…thing…and I don't care now! As soon as we reach base camp, you will bathe and sleep. Tomorrow morning, you'll wake up according to _my _schedule and be ready to train. Cramps or not!" During his angry tirade, that sharp little finger that been tapping his message into her chest, singing her with the heat that was building in him.

'_Jeez, is he _ever _going to stop burning me?' _She found the annoyed thought floating through her head before she could stop it. She slapped a hand to her mouth and his eyes narrowed at her.

"What's the matter, ferry girl, just think something bad about your master?" He grouched. She shook her head frantically, trying to hold down her panic when she saw the Jagan flare beneath his band. She tried, oh she tried, to keep the thought from rolling through her head once again. She thought of everything from puppies to ice cream, but still it made an entrance; and she knew he caught it when he smirked at her.

"Hn. Ferry girl, every time that I put my hands on you, you'll burn." With that, he turned and continued on to their destination. She stood there for a second before nearly trotting to keep up with him. She tried to chalk up her racing heat to the pace and not what he'd said.

Three hours on trudging had done nothing to calm the poor woman's pulse. She padded softly behind him and tried not to catch his scent as the wind blew around them. She discreetly sniffed in. Wood smoke. She blushed harder. Botan watched his back as he walked. She marveled at just how broad his shoulders were for such a short man. She found herself studying the way that he walked; he took long, easy strides. She trailed her eyes from the soles of his feet slowly up his legs until they came to rest lightly on his backside. Her cheeks burned hotter.

He really had quite the little butt on him. Perfectly rounded with muscle… not too big, but not flat either. She wondered what it would feel like to dig her nails into that soft flesh. Ahead of her, he made a small chocking noise. She ignored him. She just kept right on staring at him, taking her time to examine each sculpted muscle, each sharp point of bone until her eyes came to rest right back on his hind end. Funny thing was the more that she looked at him from the back, the more she wondered what he looked like under the front of his pants.

He tripped.

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Hiei's base camp was just that… a camp. Well, a large grouping of canvas tents would have been a more accurate description. She could hardly take in everything that she was seeing. Everywhere she looked, demons scurried to complete their assignments for the day. Dog-eared stable boys lead scaly beasts to make shift stables. Cooks ran around the mess tent, all but flinging orders at the soldiers waiting in the chow line. Low-leveled officers scurried past them, their arms loaded with papers and maps. Disconcertingly enough, half naked men were also running around, seemingly headed to the latrine tent located at the back of the base. She had never seen so many textures and colors of skin and scales all smashed into one tiny place before! There were fox tails, bird wings, long teeth and claws everywhere she looked. All in all, she thought she was going to enjoy the experience of living in this bustling little community. However, there was just one problem…

The smell of sweat, manure and man was darn near enough to make her call in her oar and fly right back to Genkai's; but she knew if she did that, Hiei would drag her kicking and screaming all the way back here. Better not to take that chance. She didn't think he was overly happy with her at the moment. He kept flicking her little looks out of the corners of his eyes and muttering something about perverted women. She followed him as he quickly made his way through the throngs of stinky, semi-dressed men. They kept throwing her strange looks; like this was the first time a woman had set foot on their soil. She didn't doubt it.

Suddenly, he stopped short and yanked her into a huge, bright purple tent. She vaguely wondered if he'd chosen the color. Surely not?

"If you're wondering about this purple nightmare I'm forced to stay in, no. I didn't choose the color. It's a symbol of high rank, so Mukuro gave me little choice." She cocked her head to the side and looked at him.

"Say, Hiei…just how high of a rank _are_ you? I mean, you must be pretty far up there to get a nice tent like this. Are you like a Captain or something?" He turned away from her and walked toward a small bed pushed against the farthest wall. He sat down and took off his boots, and then he unbuttoned his coat and untied his head band. Her eyes grew steadily wider and glassier as she watched him all but disrobe in front of her. She cleared her throat, hoping to remind her that he was still in the company of a lady. She looked at her and scoffed.

"Girl, if we'll be training together, then you'll have to get used to seeing me like this. I'll be touching you a lot during the course of our days living here, and trust me; you won't be wearing those ridiculous heavy garments." He took stock of her traditional pink kimono. She looked down and realized that he was right. She'd never be able to keep up with him with those weighting her down. She frowned, wondering what she should wear to a training session.

"I'll talk to the men in the uniform shop and have them issue you a set of standard training pants and a shirt." He stood up and walked to the end of the bed where a small, green, heavy metal chest sat. She saw black numbers spray painted across the top that read: SU075619 and tilted her head, curious at their meaning. So she asked Hiei, who was currently picking at the large padlock attached to it with his sword.

"Umm… master? What is that code on the top of your trunk?" He grunted as the lock gave and he threw it open.

"It's my service identification number. The SU stands for Southern Unit. We're the division that guards the southern borders of Mukuro's territory; and stop calling me master. It sounds illegal coming from you." He stopped digging through the slightly dusty contents of the trunk and looked at the ceiling. "On second thought… nah, go ahead."

"Okay, but Hiei, you never did tell me what rank you are. Everyone seemed to recognize you when we were passing through. So what are you, a lieutenant?" She raised her brow when he ignored her and all but dove into the trunk in search of… whatever it was that he was looking for. He thumped around for a bit, and resurfaced a few seconds after a triumphant grunt echoed from somewhere deep inside the box. He came up holding what looked like a small roll of measuring tape. He unfurled it as he walked slowly to her, locking his gaze onto her waist. She shifted uncomfortably, the heat of those eyes warning her core.

He stopped before her and without a word, began to pull on the obi at her waist. She slapped his hand and jumped away.

"Well, I never!" she hissed angrily. "If you think for one hot second that you training me means that I have to give you my body, then you have another thing coming, mister!" She plopped her hands onto her hips and blew a strand of sky hued hair from her eyes. He was not amused.

"Stupid, foolish, childish, idiotic ferry witch! I'm trying to take your measurements for your uniform!" His eyebrows also slammed together as he gripped the tape tightly in his fist. "And I thought I told you that you'll have to get used to me touching you! You'd better do something about that dense skull of yours, because I'm growing tired of having to repeat myself to you." Both of them stood still, sparks fizzling between them until finally she lowered her hands to the tie at the back of her obi.

"For future reference," her soft velvety voice seemed to calm him, "it ties at the back. Tell me what you need me to do, master." Her hands had stilled over the knot that held her clothing together. That stopped him. He audibly swallowed as he dropped his eyes back down to her waist.

"Uhm…" started lamely and then cleared his throat, "just strip to your undergarments. I need for the tape to touch your skin so I can get an accurate measurement." He turned his cherry-red face from her as she complied. He almost winced at the rusting sound of silk hitting the ground. He saw her cross her arms and shift uncomfortably as she waited for him to turn and look at her.

"Uh…H-Hiei, I mean master! I uh I'm ready for you." Her face was near to glowing at that point, and he hadn't even seen her! He steeled himself, refusing to let her see how much just her silhouette had rattled him. He turned his head slowly…and felt his mouth drop open. He cursed his body as he felt blood rushing into a certain part of him that was most unwelcome in their current situation. Luckily, she kept her face turned away, or she would have seen the way his eyes scorched her flesh.

She was flawless, just as the brat had said. A long graceful neck blended into a pair of well-spaced shoulders. Her collar bone was clearly visible beneath smooth pale skin. He dropped his eyes to her breasts. They sat high and proud and though they were concealed by the cups of her bra, he could still see the hard peaks of her nipples pushing against the fabric, taunting him. His gaze landed on the blisters that marred one side of her otherwise perfect chest and felt the urge to kick himself for damaging such a beautiful sight. Moving on, he tore his gaze from her chest and drug it down over her waist. It was, after all, where he was supposed to be going anyway.

He took cautious steps toward her until his bare toes were nearly touching hers. Gently, he wrapped his arms around her flat stomach and wound the tape around her back. He noted that her skin was warm. Or maybe that was just his own heat beginning to engulf him. He slowly brought the two ends of the tape together until they touched. Twenty-two inches. Not bad. He would take this to the uniform shop just as soon…as… her scent stopped tickling his nose. The tip of his nose brushed her belly button, and he felt as much as heard her let out a sharp gasp. He felt his breath bouncing off of her skin, and he realized that they were both trembling. She was panting, her breath pushing those pert little nipples right into his view. He felt his mouth water.

Something was happening to him. No woman had ever elicited such a response from him. He'd never wanted to bite a woman. He wanted to bite her though. He wanted it so badly, that he felt his canines lengthening in his mouth. His breathing picked up, and he could taste the scent that was rolling off of her. His tongue peaked out and lightly touched the rim of her belly button. Her back arched and her arms came up to surround his shoulders. His teeth grazed her now burning flesh and she let out a loud gasp. He dropped the tape and wrapped his arms hard around her middle. Her right hand buried itself in his hair.

"Ah! Hiei…" He began pulling her back toward the tiny bed and she followed him willingly.

"**ATTENTION ALL HANDS, ATTENTION ALL HANDS! FALL OUT FOR EVENING CHOW IN THE MESS TENT! I SAY AGAIN, EVENING CHOW IS NOW BEING SERVED IN THE MESS TENT!" **

The loud speaker acted like a bucket of cold water for the two of them, who jumped apart like they'd been zapped. Panting and trembling, both of them stared at each other with wide eyes. No one moved for quite a few minutes, and then suddenly, Hiei growled and walked away from her. He bent down and snapped the tape up in his hand. She shook her head and began walking on legs that felt like jello. He roughly pulled his shirt back on, as well as his boots. The air was so thick with sexual tension; Botan thought she could cut it with a knife. She had to break it before he left.

"So, uh…Hiei… you never did answer my question from earlier. Just how high ranking are you?" Her voice wavered with embarrassment. He raised the flap of the tent with his fist. Then he stopped and threw her a look over his shoulder. He sighed.

"I'm a general. Actually, I'm Mukuro's second-in-command."

This time she tripped.

**Well, I thought I would throw in a little smut for my more mature fans. I'm going to write a love scene, but it'll be a little while before it happens, so I'll toss you guys chapters like these every once and a while. Please review, and look out! Training day starts in the next chapter!**

**3 Freya**


	9. 48 Hours

Hey Guys! I am SOOOOOOOO sorry that this took so long to update. Crazy things happening, ya know? So, This is where everything starts, and things really begin to heat up as promised. WARNING! There is a heavy lime content in this chapter, if it offends you, skip to the bottom and just read about training day. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and stuck with me thus far! Ya'll know I love ya! :D

I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of the characters therein.

48 Hours

As she glanced down at the thin, short metal sheet that separated her from the next shower stall over, it occurred to her that she'd never been so very exposed. In point of fact, the more she thought about it, the more she realized that any person that was tall enough could peer over the separator and see every inch of her bare flesh! Her face heated and she scrubbed her hair with a new found speed, her nails scraping every last inch of dirt and grease from her scalp. Luckily, the stalls were all empty at that time, but she wasn't about to press her luck and take the chance that something could happen. She didn't think that she was fully in possession of her mental faculties naked as she was, and a self-defense situation could quickly go south for her.

She quickly reached into the purple plastic shower bag that she'd brought with her and whipped out the soft white wash cloth that was stowed in the front pocket. She worked her dripping hand into the cool interior of the bag and pulled out her blueberry pie scented body scrub. She squirted a generous amount on the rag and began to vigorously scour her neck and shoulders. Though her eyes kept darting to and fro around the semi-darkness of the latrine tent, she found herself gradually beginning to relax as the frothy white suds ran down the long length of her body. She gingerly rubbed the lather around her chest, taking care not to agitate the blisters that Hiei had left behind. She leaned her head back under the spray and allowed the luke-warmth of the water to wash away the grime that had built up over the course of their little hike that day. She popped her eyes open, took one final look around the room and decided that no one would want to bathe that late in the evening save herself. Even Hiei had headed straight for the tent after he'd dropped her measurements off at the tailor's tent. Hiei…her mind wandered once again back to the strange occurrence back in his quarters earlier. It was odd…almost like they'd come under a trance. She'd never seen Hiei act that way. Hell, _she'd _never acted that way before. She made up her mind to talk with him about it later. Letting out a long, soul-deep sigh, she finally allowed herself to fully relax and enjoy the little prunes starting to form on her finger tips… until…

"AH-HEM!"

Her eyes snapped open and immediately landed on the shadowy figure standing at the entrance to the tent. She let out an earth shattering squeal and hunched into herself, her arms instinctively going around her breasts. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she understood that the man couldn't see her very well from his vantage point, but that didn't stop her from ripping her towel out of the bag, knocking it over and spilling its contents on the sopping floor. Wrapping the fluffy white towel around herself, she realized that she had forgotten to turn the shower stall off, and the water soaked the towel. Looking down, she felt her face turn scarlet at the blaring sight of her own nipples jutting out proudly back at her. Her eyebrows slammed together and she whipped around to turn off the water, her left forearm pressing into her chest to preserve her decency once again. She dared to glance up and squealed once again.

The stranger had advanced closer to her during her little fumbling episode, and she could see that his shoulders were shaking with suppressed laughter, though his face was still shrouded by the shadows of the tent. Suddenly, she was furious at this very rude person, and fully intended to tell him so just as soon as her legs stopped shaking. She opened her mouth, took an angry breath in, and raised a clenched fist at him just as the front flap to the tent was all but torn from its ties and an irate Hiei marched in holding his unsheathed sword. The stranger's shoulders began quaking in earnest now, and Botan could have sworn that she heard an amused snort coming from his direction. Her wide eyes swung back and forth between the stranger and Hiei, her jaw dropping lower as her cheeks became more and more enflamed with each passing second. No one moved, and for the first time in her life, she found herself utterly speechless. She didn't think that she could talk her way out of that one. Hiei saved her the trouble.

"What in the HELL is going here? Girl! Why did you scream? You woke up half the camp! Don't tell me that you can't take one simple shower without needing to be rescued!" Though Hiei angrily hissed his words to her, he kept his eyes trained on the figure in front of her… who was gasping for breath between sobbing laughs. His eyes narrowed. He'd have known that goofy laugh anywhere.

"Detective! What the hell are you doing here?" Hiei brandished his sword ungracefully above his head, raw fury overtaking his features. "Do you have any idea of the panic you've just caused out there? Half of my men were heading to the armory before I stopped them! Explain your presence!" The air whistled as he dropped the blade to point at Yusuke, who was still all but howling with laughter.

"You…you should," he gasped, "you should see your faces! I-I've seen tomatoes with less coloring!" Yusuke found his little joke hilarious and collapsed into a fit of giggles on the damp floor. Botan's eyebrows slammed together and forgetting all about her state of undress, she dropped her fists onto her hips. She was not amused.

"Yusuke Urameshi! Have you any idea how AWFUL this is? For crying out loud, this is my first night here! Couldn't you have waited until next week…next month….NEVER to come and cause such drama? And stop that cackling! I fail to see what is so funny here!" She was surprised when he stopped, his whole face going slack and his eyes settled themselves somewhere much lower than her face. She shot a cursory glance a Hiei only to find the same expression painting his features. Wondering what was so very interesting, she looked down at herself and shrieked.

She'd been so riled up about the whole situation that she'd forgotten to hold her towel together. She reacted in pure horror when she realized that front of it had completely fallen open, allowing the boys a full frontal view of her nude body. She thought she could die right there. In fact, she wished for it vehemently as she whipped the cloth over her obviously cold skin and grabbed her bag. She thought she heard Yusuke calling her name as she tore from the bath tent as hard and as fast as she could, but she was too distraught to care.

She was vaguely aware that she was knocking into people and making an even bigger scene, but her feet wouldn't listen to her commands to stop. Her heart wouldn't slow its tempo, and her breathing came in ragged gasps as she reached the tent. Its color was like a bright beacon on a dark sea, and she nearly ripped the flaps off of the front of it as she flung herself through the entrance. She frantically searched for her suitcase in the pitch blackness of the room, and let out a groan of frustration when she tripped over it. She opened it quickly, searching for dry clothes since her other pajamas had been soaked during that fiasco in the shower tent.

She roughly pulled on a pair of green cotton panties and not caring about finding a bra, fished around in her assortment of night gowns for one that would cover every inch of her skin save her hands, face and feet. She growled when she remembered that she'd left all of her more conservative things back at Genkai's place in favor of her lighter, cooler things. She found a large pink t-shirt and pulled her arms through it quickly then she shut the case and sat on top of it, still mostly unclothed. The shock was beginning to ware off and the gravity of what had just happened began to truly set in. She'd never been so embarrassed!

She felt the familiar sting of helpless tears beginning to build behind her eyes, a hazy film covering the room. Just as she began to hiccup, she felt a heavy weight fall around her shoulders. She gasped and stood up quickly, barely catching the blanket before it fell. Holding it in front of her like a shield, she squinted in the darkness.

"Who—"

"Hn. Who else, foolish girl? Did you think anyone else would dare follow you in here?" Hiei's rough baritone washed over her, both relieving and humiliating her all over again.

"M-Master! I—I…I'm sorry." She sniffed, trying desperately to suck up the tears attempting to run down her cheeks. She wouldn't let him see her cry again.

"Hn. Enough of this." His voice still rang with his distinct monotone, but she thought she heard a softness in it that wasn't there before. "Get in. It's late and I don't want trouble getting you up in the morning." He tilted his head toward the silhouette of the small green cot laid open against the back wall. She nodded and made her way carefully through the darkness until her knees bumped the icy metal frame. Quickly dropping the blanket he'd given her, she threw back and covers and flopped into bed, turning on her side and facing the wall. Just as she began to get comfortable, a thought came to her.

"Hiei, where will you sleep?" Her voice was slightly muffled by the fabric of the tent. She suddenly felt so comfortable cocooned in her little blanket pile and fabric wall that she almost missed his reply. Almost.

"I'm sleeping in here too. This is my bed, and I've no intention of letting you kick me out of it. You'll just have to sleep on your side so we can both fit. Men do this all the time in the field. It's a defense tactic and it's also used to keep warm in the cooler months. Consider that another free lesson. Now scoot."

His rough timbre growled at her somewhere over her head. Her eyes had widened when his comment registered, and she nearly shot upright when she felt the little cot dip under his weight. She lay rigidly as he moved the bottom sheet over himself, only wanting the sheer bit of cotton over him, lest he become too warm. She squeezed her eyes shut and curled in on herself, only to have the movement backfire when her back arched out and rested lightly against the warmth if his arm. She nearly cracked her spine as she rushed to straighten back out. She heard him make a small noise in the back of his throat, before he too turned away, his back mere centimeters from hers. He was so close that she could feel the heat rolling from his skin.

The tense silence continued from quite a few minutes, each one trying to find a comfortable spot and to force themselves to relax under the awkward strain of sharing a bed with a member of the opposite sex. Finally, after a bit more time had passed and Botan had abandoned all hope of sleeping, she heard Hiei let out another grunt before mumbling something about not "having any other choice." She nearly died a thousand deaths when he quickly flipped onto his other side, shoved his arm under her side of the pillow and pulled her flush against him. She let out a gasp and tensed. She felt him shake his head.

"Don't get any stupid ideas, girl. This is only because this cot is really too small for two people to lie however they please and I want to sleep tonight. Just get over it and shut your eyes." He felt her shiver as his breath and deep voice caressed the shell of her ear. He smirked, his male ego having been stroked by her physical reaction to his proximity. He shut his eyes and lay his head on the pillow, fully intending to get as much sleep as possible before what was sure to be a trying day.

Thirty minutes and one very miffed fire demon later found the couple still awake and getting very annoyed with the fact. Hiei was having a particularly rough time of it, as his privates were reacting rather strongly to her skin against him. He just couldn't understand why she got such a rise from his body. He _been with _other women before, but even burying himself in the heat of their bodies had never caused such a roaring flame in his stomach. Just the feel of her soft curves molded to the rock hardness of his front had him nearly groaning. To make matters even worse, her scent coupled with every little twitch or movement that she made against him had him wanting to writhe against her, to rub his hot skin against her cool back. It was humiliating. He was pining after her like a bitch in heat. It was stupid, it was ridiculous… it was downright unmanly!

Botan couldn't sleep. Nope, no way. So she just settled for keeping her eyes trained on the gently flapping fabric of the tent and hoping that her body would just take the hint and give out already. Instead, she was bombarded with the twining forces of a racing heart, the shivers and nipples so hard she could cut glass with them! Her eyebrows snapped together and her lips turned down in a nasty frown. This was ridiculous. She might as well have been rubbing her butt right against his crotch for all the sexual tension that was _obviously _there; and boy, did she mean _obvious._ She wondered if Hiei was even bothered by the raging hard-on that he was trying so hard to keep from pressing into her backside. He was failing miserably, but she had to give him points for effort. It was a rather sizable erection, after all. With that thought, a surge of heat shot straight to her core, boiling her blood and leaving a massive case of the tingles in its wake. She knew from the throbbing between her legs that her scent had spiked, and quickly prayed that he didn't notice too. Fat chance… He growled. She froze.

This wasn't a typical aggravated Hiei grunt, but a low, feral, animalistic vibration that originated from somewhere within his chest. She knew without even turning to look at him that he had reverted back to his basest demon form. She didn't even consider moving, knowing full well what happened when a demon lost control of his more civilized traits. So instead she lay perfectly, rigidly still and hoped that he would transform again soon; but instead of seeing her wish realized, she was once again shocked by him when she felt a scalding hot hand come around her and trace the line of her collar bone. He brushed the hair off of her chest and tucked it behind her, baring a smooth expanse of shoulder to his gaze. Her shivers kicked up a notch when she felt the tickle of his claw trailing up her arm and over her shoulder blade until it came back around under her jaw line. She gasped as he roughly grabbed it and forced her face to turn and see him.

She was surprised to find out that he had indeed transformed back into his humanoid resemblance, but the bestial look in his eyes remained undiminished. He roughly laid her on her back and shifted to cover her body with his. Picking up both of her tiny wrists in his large hand, he pinioned them above her head and leaned his weight on them. She looked up him, all but panting for the breath that didn't come, the pulse that didn't calm. Her eyes were half-lidded and heavy, her pupils dilated and tracing his every curve, every point. No longer was she clenched and nervous about being around his demon countenance. In fact, the ache between her legs had returned in full force, nearly becoming painful when he shot her a look that was so smoldering and intimate, she thought she might melt into a little puddle of goo in his hands.

He groaned when he saw the look of absolute need in her beautiful eyes. Never had a woman looked at him like that; like she would die if he didn't touch her. He shamelessly stared at the rise and fall of her breasts beneath her shirt, the peaks of her nipples plainly showing and begging for him to give them the attention that they craved. Who was he to argue? She arched her back and strung up as tightly as a bow when he pushed his hand underneath the hem of her shirt and dragged the flat of his palm up and over the taught plain of her abdomen. He dragged his thumb leisurely around the underside of her breasts, causing her to writhe beneath him in the most delicious way. He could barely contain his own groan of satisfaction as her hips brushed wantonly against his, the most secret parts of them meeting and retracting in a frantic rhythm. Growling again, he ripped her shirt to a place where it caught just above her breasts and lowered his face to take one of the swollen tips into the velvet heat of his mouth. She cried out, thrusting her chest up to him, silently pleading for him to continue. He removed his hand from her wrists and brought it down to her other breast. She immediately buried her hands in his hair, the little moans and mewls that she had been uttering growing in volume. She threw her head back against the pillow and lowered her hands to his broad shoulders, kneading the muscle there just in an effort to touch him. He shot her a look that threatened to sear her bones, and she tugged on his shoulders to bring him up to eye level with her. He let go of her with an audible pop, and she gasped as the cold air hit her chest, now damp from his attentions.

Without missing a beat, she placed her hand on the back of his head and bought his lips down to hers, crashing them together in an almost painful way. He fisted his hands in the thick glossy strands of her hair and threw himself completely into it, relishing the feel of her nearly naked body grinding against his. His tongue forced its way past the pillowy softness of her lips as he quickly took control of the situation. She arched into him, ensuring that almost every inch of their flesh was pressed together tightly. They were both panting, pulling in breath like they were dying for it.

Hiei was burning. He had never held a woman close to him and he DIDN'T kiss them. Sex was just sex, after all. No need to go and make the woman he was with feel like he was a weak fool who needed her touch. This, however, felt out of his control; like his body was moving of its own accord. When he had caught her scent spiking the way it had earlier, he'd almost blacked out completely. It took everything he'd had to transform back into his usual state. Her body was like a magnet, drawing him in without any hope of escape. Even worse was that he found himself actually _wanting_ to kiss her, to please her…to hear her scream his name. He had no idea what was happening to him, but he had no qualms about letting this particular part of his admitted attraction to the ferry girl take over him, and she seemed much more than willing to return his attentions. He lowered his hand back down to the top of her breast. She let out a tiny moan that threatened to undo him right then and there. Yep, things couldn't get much better.

"OH DAMN! SORRY, GUYS! Whoo, Hiei! I thought you said you didn't like her like that? You sure do change your tune pretty quick, don't ya?"

The two of them jumped apart, Botan wearing a horrified expression and Hiei looking quite blood-thirsty. She turned to face and the wall, frantically trying to compose herself and praying that Yusuke hadn't seen too much of her. Her face was day-glow red, and she knew that Hiei saw it. So she didn't say anything at all. She just lowered herself under the covers and pulled them up over her head. She heard a loud _thwack _followed by Yusuke's unmistakable howl of pain before she felt the cot dip again and Hiei settle her back against his chest, the inferno between them now simmering just beneath the surface. She lay there for a little while longer, thinking about what had just happened with Hiei and wondering where it would take her… what it all meant; and where it would've ended up if Yusuke hadn't come in when he did. She was just about to doze off when she heard her friend whine to Hiei.

"Well, if you're sleeping with her, where am I gonna sleep?" The detective's voice was so sweet, so deceptively innocent that Botan had to smile. Hiei, however, was more comfortable with yelling.

"You rat bastard, you can sleep in my trunk for all I care! Now, shut up! Tomorrow is going to be very long for all of us, and I for one want to be clear headed." With that, he plonked his head back down on his side of the pillow and slammed his eyelids together, determined to sleep off whatever strange feelings were left over from his recent activities with the ferry wench. Tomorrow was training day one, and he had a feeling he'd need all the patience he could get.

)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)*

She swore it was the cruelest thing that could have been done to her. She rubbed her swollen eyes and stretched, trying to compensate for the poor sleep and lack of coffee. How the hell was she expected to perform without coffee? It was unheard of! A sinister prank performed by a shrewd little man who was currently walking in silence ahead of her with their friend. She didn't know where they were walking to…didn't care. All she knew was that the sun hadn't yet risen; she was running on an empty stomach and she had gotten next to no sleep that night as she lay back to chest with an extremely attractive male.

She reached down to lightly scratch her ribs. The shirt that had been presented to her that morning along with a pair of grey camouflage pants and black leather combat boots were foreign to her, and the strange fabric that they were crafted from itched! She was thankful that her arms didn't have to suffer as well, seeing as the shirt was sleeveless…and rather low cut, she thought. It only came just below her collar bones, but it was still a far cry from the traditional garments that the Spirit World had provided her. These were lighter and thinner than her kimono. She was thankful for that at least because it was warm outside already, and growing warmer by the minute it seemed.

Her hand dropped to play absently with the silver belt buckle attached to the nylon belt that encircled her tiny waist. As she looked ahead at Hiei, her mind drifted back to what had happened the day before. She couldn't understand how things had progressed so quickly. For heaven's sake, she had only kissed a man once, and that had been just a sweet little thing given out of pure love. Her lips twitched upward as she remembered Koenma on that day; how loving he had been with her. He'd held her and gently caressed her cheek before leaning in slowly, giving her time to pull away if she wanted. She hadn't understood at first what he was doing. She'd been so innocent back then. The instant that his lips had lightly settled over hers, she knew instinctively that it was a good gesture, one born of love. She had enjoyed it, but there was a curious empty feeling in her chest. As soon he'd pulled away and seen her hooded eyes, he'd known that she was never meant for him. So from that day forward, he'd thrown himself into being the best friend he knew how to be instead of a lover. Then one day, she was ecstatic to discover that he'd fallen hard for the beautiful and stoic Ayame. Now he was expecting a son…and that curious empty feeling still lingered in her heart. Until last night.

She pulled from herself back from her thoughts as the men came to a stop ahead of her. It was still very dark, but she could just barely make out a small clearing in the wood that surrounded them. So this was to be her training ground…

"Girl," Hiei called roughly though he never turned to face her, "come forward and stand where I can see you." Botan complied.

"Yes, Master?" She said softly, her voice still chopped and low from sleep.

"Today is your first day of training, but we will not engage in combat today. As every good soldier knows, the first step to being a strong fighter is to have strong will, and a sharp mind. Today will be about meditation and lessons of the field." She sighed in relief, knowing that he wouldn't beat on her today.

"However," he continued and a sense of unease filled her gut, "being a good fighter also requires a strong body. We will begin each morning with exercises to strengthen those sticks you call arms, and those deflated air sacks you call lungs. You may hate me in the beginning of this, but when I'm done with you, you'll be strong in every way. I will not allow you to quit or to cry or to slack off. I will not let you fail, no matter how much you beg to. Is this clear?" She gave him a wooden nod of her head, images of thirty mile runs and climbing trees with weights attached to her dancing through her mind. She tossed a quick look at Yusuke, but his gaze was elsewhere.

"Insolent brat! Look at me, girl, not the Detective! I am your master, not that fool and while you're here under the shade of these trees, I will be the only one you see. You shall not speak to him unless I tell you to. He will touch you, correct you and help you find your feet. You are not to thank him. I want it so you will be unable to distinguish his body from yours. I want you to only feel the way that he moves, as if he were an extension of yourself. Eventually, you will be able to do everything on your own. Until then, the Detective will be your shadow self, but you will speak only to me. Understand?" She nodded, her wide eyes trained on Hiei's face. "Now, we'll go through our stretches. We'll run after."

She took a deep breath and steeled herself, following him to the center of the clearing. Yusuke followed closely behind her, apparently taking everything Hiei had said to heart. They stretched every muscle from their calves to their necks, only stopping to allow Yusuke to move Botan's arms and legs when her balance was off. She was not used to being touched so much, but she forced herself to ignore him as Hiei had commanded. She did, however, pull a certain comfort from the feel of his callused palms gliding across her skin as he repositioned her. She felt a little safer with Yusuke acting as her shadow.

She realized as they began to jog off through the mountains that he probably came to her just for that purpose; to make her feel safer. She let out a tiny smile. Keiko was right. Yusuke really was like a prince when he wanted to be, and she'd never loved him more for it.

Seven miles into their run found Botan bent over a large tree root dry heaving. She knew now why Hiei hadn't offered her breakfast. He'd likely known that she would be sick her first few times running at such a pace for such a long time. She was extremely embarrassed at first, until she remembered that these men had already seen her naked. Somehow, the thought made her feel better. She let out another small smile when her stomach settled. If Hiei had wanted to sleep with her last night, she bet that he'd changed his mind after that little display.

She pulled herself back up to find Yusuke giving her a concerned look. Just as he looked about to say something in her defense, she looked at Hiei and cleared her throat.

"Forgive me, Master, I didn't properly prepare myself for this run. I'm ready to continue now if you'll permit me." She held his gaze as a strange expression came over his face.

"Very well, girl. We'll run just over the hill. There is a stream there where we will rest and drink. Then we will continue back to the clearing where your training will begin." His eyes narrowed at her, searching for signs that she was about to quit or slow down. Though her stomach was still roiling, she refused to give him the satisfaction of finding what he sought. So she tamped down on the dread filling her insides at the prospect of repeating that little trek and began to jog.

Another three hours had passed since they had begun and the sun had risen well into the sky before they finally returned to the training ground. Each one dripped sweat from their person. Though Hiei looked completely unfazed by such a strenuous run, Yusuke and Botan were bent over and panting. Hiei quirked an eyebrow at Yusuke, who returned the gesture by flipping him off. Just as Hiei looked like he would begin a squabble with Yusuke, a very red-faced Botan put up her hand and tried to choke out a few words.

"Okay...Master…ready to," she gasped, "keep going." She looked up at him from her bent position and all but pleaded with her eyes.

"Very well then, girl. Come here." He held out his hand to her. Botan gratefully took it, too late realizing that Yusuke had let out a warning hiss beside her. Before she knew it, Hiei had up-ended her into the dirt and pinned her down once again. She immediately hated herself.

"I see you've forgotten our first lesson, ferry girl. I will enjoy re-teaching you when the time comes." He rose from the ground and offered a hand down to her. This time she smartened up and slapped his hand away, pushing herself upwards and gaining a very shaky foot hold. Hiei smirked in approval, and then turned to walk away.

As soon as his back was turned, she collapsed against Yusuke, who cupped her arms with his strong hands and held her weight while they walked. He squeezed her arms warmly, as if to silently tell her she'd done well. She quickly placed her hand over his and squeezed it in return to say thank you.

They made their way to a large boulder on the outskirts of the clearing and Hiei jumped, landing gracefully on top of it. Botan placed a hand over her eyes to shield them from the sun as she looked up at him, already knowing where this was headed and hating it.

"Detective!" His velvet baritone rang out across the trees. "Bring the girl up here! The first phase of training begins now.

Yusuke lifted her gently and bent his legs until his butt nearly hit the ground. She felt his muscles coil just before he launched them both into the air, pulling a flip and landing softly right next to Hiei.

"Now, Yusuke, help her position her body into the proper meditation stance."

Yusuke pushed gently on her shoulders until she folded down into a cross legged heap on the ground. He knelt behind her, his knees pressing against the sides of her thighs and pulled her shoulders back, straightened her head and placed her hands on top of her knees.

"Breathe slow, Botan." His warm sweet voice flooded her ear and she did as he asked, though she told him nothing. She focused on Hiei's face and allowed her tightly pinched muscles to begin relaxing. Hiei came to her then, and knelt before her, his knees touching Yusuke's and completely enclosing her in a circle of male scent and heat. Her body nearly melted right there.

Hiei's eyes found hers and her breath caught in her throat. She was keenly aware of Yusuke's breath at the side of her throat. Hiei reached out and brushed his fingers over her eyes.

"Keep them closed and hold this position. Let everything else fall away. Forget about Yusuke. Forget about me. As far as you know, we're not here. Now, think on what it really means to be strong. Look for the answer deep inside yourself. Hold this position and focus." So she did. Several minutes had passed in total silence before she popped and eye open. The men were still kneeling around her, protecting her body. Her back was starting to cramp and her neck was stiff. She cleared her throat and addressed Hiei, who looked as though he'd fallen asleep.

"Uh..um..ahem..uh…master? Forgive my rudeness, but how long must I hold this position?" Her voice sounded tiny, even to her. Hiei opened his eyes and looked at her for a long time, until she began to squirm.

"Yusuke and I have already meditated on this subject and found our answers long ago. This is only for your benefit. I'd say for someone as thick-headed as you, you'll have to hold this position for…at least forty-eight hours." She could tell he was serious by his straight face.

Yusuke steadied her as she nearly fell off the rock.

**Thanks, everyone! I promise I'll update as soon as I can! Don't give up on me! X_X We might even get a surprise visit from Mukuro in the next chapter! Reviews always help and I'm always grateful for the kind words! Love ya'll!**

**Freya 3**


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